Mai Frndjibachian

Website: maifrnd.com

Research Interests: National Identity | Narratives | Southeast Asia | Cultural
Politics

Mai Frndjibachian is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Florida, where she specializes in international relations and comparative politics. Her research focuses on Southeast Asian politics, maritime territorial disputes, and the intersections of performance, memory, and statecraft—particularly in Vietnam and the South China Sea. She has presented her work at major conferences including the International Studies Association and the American Political Science Association. As an instructor and teaching assistant, she have led courses such as Politics Under Authoritarianism and Introduction to International Relations, earning the 2025 Best Graduate Teacher Award in Political Science. She is also a contributing editorial assistant for Review of International Political Economy and serves on the editorial board for the UF Journal of Undergraduate Research.