ReSearching for the Common Good: Caroline Petrikas

December 10, 2025

As an interdisciplinary academic institute, the Institute for Social Concerns leverages research to respond to the complex demands of justice and to serve the common good. This series, ReSearching for the Common Good, highlights some of the scholars in our community.

Caroline Petrikas ’27 is a political science and gender studies double major, minoring in constitutional studies. A 2024 NDBridge participant, she is a recipient of a 2024 Researching for the Common Good Award from the institute. She is also a fellow with both the O’Brien Notre Dame International Security Center and the Hesburgh Democracy Initiative and is a part of the Glynn Family Honors Program.

Can you describe your research for NDBridge?

In the summer of 2024, I worked with Forum Connemara in Letterfrack, Ireland, focusing on how Ukrainian refugees were fitting into Irish society. I looked closely at the connections between government groups, local communities, and the displaced people themselves. I studied social programs run by government-funded community centers in rural Ireland, like the Forum, and learned that it was tough for the refugees to settle in, and the government programs weren’t set up well. This left refugees feeling both helpless and invisible. Seeing how systems meant to help vulnerable people can actually silence them got me interested in the big issues of invisibility and accountability.  

What research have you conducted since NDBridge?

My work with the Forum was recognized by the Research for the Common Good Award, which provided up to $5,000 for more research. I wanted to move beyond just local integration problems, so I focused on that idea of invisibility within transnational justice and international law. So in May 2025, I went to The Hague in the Netherlands. I wanted to find out if the International Criminal Court (ICC) can hold people accountable, or if its political limitations just keep this invisibility going. I did field research with experts and employees at the ICC with the goal of contributing to the common good by seeing how we can make international justice stronger and more effective.

How do you see your research addressing justice and the common good?

My research found that the ICC relies too much on state cooperation, which has hurt its credibility and made it feel more like a symbol of justice than the real thing. By linking my work in Ireland with this broader examination of international justice, I tried to understand how invisibility works across different borders and scales. I wrapped up my research by producing a final paper arguing that the ICC needs major reforms to be credible and to keep alive the possibility for real global accountability and justice. 

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