My name is Matt Martin (he/him), and I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Comparative Constitutions Project. I recently completed my PhD in Government at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in public law and comparative politics. In August 2026, I will start as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina.
My research examines constitution-making processes, focusing on mechanisms of public consultation. My dissertation analyzes how and why constitutional drafters engage public consultation—and what they do with the input they receive—through comparative case studies of constitution-making in Chile and Cuba. I combine large-N analyses and natural language processing with elite interviews and qualitative case research.
My work has been published in Política, The Journal of Law and Courts, and PLOS One. My dissertation research was supported by a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant from the American Political Science Association. I am also an affiliate of the Center for Law and Democracy at UT Austin.
Prior to graduate school, I worked as a legal assistant in immigration law. I remain committed to migrant justice and solidarity through mutual aid work supporting trans and gender non-conforming asylum seekers.
Outside of work, I enjoy playing guitar and producing music—mostly lofi hip-hop.