Helen Webley-Brown

I am a Research Officer at LSE’s Phelan United States Centre. At LSE, I work on several projects within Prof. Lauren Sukin’s programme of research entitled Dangerous Divisions: The Impact of Polarization on Nuclear Politics. The projects examine how domestic political conditions in the US impact its international standing. Alongside this role, I am a Research Assistant for Prof. Helen Margetts at the Oxford Internet Institute, focusing on digital information exchange between the UK government and its citizens. I am also an affiliate of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University.

Before returning to London in late 2024, I spent six years studying in the US. I moved across the pond for undergrad via the US-UK Fulbright Commission’s wonderful Sutton Trust US Programme. In 2022, I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an A.B. in Political Science. In 2025, I mastered out of MIT Political Science’s Ph.D. program, earning an S.M. in Political Science. I reapplied to Ph.D. programs this cycle, and hope to (re)start my doctoral studies in fall 2025.

Currently, my research agenda fits into two broad buckets:

  1. The socio-political effects of interacting with local political institutions in the US, focusing on police departments and public housing authorities.
  2. How emerging technologies change the way people experience and perceive the state.

At the intersection of this, I am interested in questions like: How do technology companies influence local policymaking and biases in public service provision? Where and why do local officials implement AAI-assisted policies like ShotSpotter in policing and Landlord Tech in housing? And, how do these tools shape political trust and civic engagement in marginalized communities?

Helen Webley-Brown

I am a Research Officer at LSE’s Phelan United States Centre. At LSE, I work on several projects within Prof. Lauren Sukin’s programme of research entitled Dangerous Divisions: The Impact of Polarization on Nuclear Politics. The projects examine how domestic political conditions in the US impact its international standing. Alongside this role, I am a Research Assistant for Prof. Helen Margetts at the Oxford Internet Institute, focusing on digital information exchange between the UK government and its citizens. I am also an affiliate of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University.

Before returning to London in late 2024, I spent six years studying in the US. I moved across the pond for undergrad via the US-UK Fulbright Commission’s wonderful Sutton Trust US Programme. In 2022, I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an A.B. in Political Science. In 2025, I mastered out of MIT Political Science’s Ph.D. program, earning an S.M. in Political Science. I reapplied to Ph.D. programs this cycle, and hope to (re)start my doctoral studies in fall 2025.

Currently, my research agenda fits into two broad buckets:

  1. The socio-political effects of interacting with local political institutions in the US, focusing on police departments and public housing authorities.
  2. How emerging technologies change the way people experience and perceive the state.

At the intersection of this, I am interested in questions like: How do technology companies influence local policymaking and biases in public service provision? Where and why do local officials implement AAI-assisted policies like ShotSpotter in policing and Landlord Tech in housing? And, how do these tools shape political trust and civic engagement in marginalized communities?