Sarah Pritchett

I am a PhD student in Human Rights Studies at Lund University, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Human Rights from Malmö University (2018) and a Master’s degree in Human Rights Studies from Lund University (2021). My previous work also includes graduate-level studies in criminology at Malmö University and a focus on radalicalization, violent extriemism, and civil rights. My research sits at the intersection of border studies, policing, and critical political theory, focusing on border securitization and the relationship between the state and its agencies/agents. My doctoral dissertation, "My Neighbor's Keeper" (working title) studies border enforcement in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Southwest border region. Using a mixed-method approach that combines semi-structured interviews with historical and policy document analysis and quantitative materials, I examine how agents’ practices and experiences both shape and are shaped by state mandates and migration policy. The project draws on continental philosophy, especially Giorgio Agamben and assemblage theory (Deleuze & Guattari), alongside critical race approaches to racialized governance and ground-level state violence.