The direct answer
Two doctoral dissertations stand out as the strongest documented research involving A Foreign Affair: Lisa Anne Simons' 2001 University of Denver dissertation and Julia H. Meszaros' 2014 Florida International University dissertation. Meszaros' connection to AFA is especially well documented because her peer-reviewed methodology states that all interviews and observations in her three-country field study were conducted through A Foreign Affair. A third doctoral thesis, by Dror Dayan in 2018, discusses AFA through a documentary-film case study but is not primarily a study of the international matchmaking industry.
2doctoral dissertations with documented direct AFA research connections
3countries in Meszaros' AFA fieldwork: Colombia, Ukraine, and the Philippines
90in-depth interviews reported in Meszaros' 2017 peer-reviewed article
Academic writing about international matchmaking varies greatly in quality and method. Some authors rely mainly on law, policy, media accounts, or previous scholarship. Others enter the field directly, interview participants, observe organized events, and speak with agency employees. This page focuses on research where the relationship to A Foreign Affair can be documented and where the type of evidence can be clearly described.
The phrase “mail-order bride” appears in historical and academic literature, but it can imply that a person is being purchased. In describing current relationships and services, this site generally uses more precise terms such as international dating, international introductions, and professional matchmaking.
The principal doctoral studies
1. Lisa Anne Simons, University of Denver, 2001
Marriage, Migration, and Markets: International Matchmaking and International Feminism
Direct AFA connection documented
- Degree
- Ph.D. dissertation
- University
- University of Denver
- Year
- 2001
- Subject
- International matchmaking, migration, gender, feminism, law, and industry practices
Later peer-reviewed scholarship identifies Simons' work as an unpublished 2001 Ph.D. thesis from the University of Denver titled Marriage, Migration, and Markets: International Matchmaking and International Feminism. Nicole Constable also identified the dissertation as an important early first-hand study in her 2003 book Romance on a Global Stage.
A Foreign Affair's own historical account says the company worked with academic researchers pursuing doctoral research and specifically names Simons' dissertation. Secondary industry accounts describe Simons as interviewing users, agency personnel, government officials, and nonprofit personnel, and report that she accompanied an AFA singles tour. Those details are useful, but because the complete dissertation is not currently available from a primary open university repository, they should be attributed rather than presented as independently page-verified facts.
Evidence standard: The dissertation's title, year, university, and doctoral status are independently supported in later scholarly literature. The direct AFA cooperation is stated by AFA and described in secondary research summaries. For legal or regulatory use, quotations and page references should be checked against the original dissertation or authorized microfilm.
Sources: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies bibliography; A Foreign Affair historical account.
2. Julia H. Meszaros, Florida International University, 2014
Racialized Sexualities within the Romance Tour Industry: The Influence of Affect and Emotion Upon Transnational Hierarchies of Desire
Strongest direct fieldwork record
- Degree
- Ph.D., Global and Sociocultural Studies
- University
- Florida International University
- Year
- 2014
- Length
- 232 pages in the FIU record
The FIU dissertation record states that Meszaros became a participant observer on romance tours in Ukraine, Colombia, and the Philippines. The dissertation examined race, gender, emotion, desire, status, and the transnational dynamics of the romance-tour industry.
The direct connection to A Foreign Affair is unusually clear. In a 2017 peer-reviewed article based on the research, Meszaros explains that she chose Colombia, Ukraine, and the Philippines because they were major AFA destinations in their respective regions and that she used the same tour company across all three locations to keep that variable constant. The article states that all interviews and observations were conducted through AFA.
That article reports four months of noncontinuous ethnographic fieldwork during 2011 and 2012, with tours lasting approximately seven to fourteen days. It also reports 90 in-depth, semistructured interviews across the three countries with American men, women participating in the industry, and local tour-agency staff.
The American Sociological Association's Sexualities section also published a 2014 description of Meszaros' doctoral research stating that she conducted interviews with American men, women in each tour country, and local employees of A Foreign Affair.
Primary and scholarly sources: Florida International University dissertation record; Women's Studies Quarterly article on JSTOR; American Sociological Association research description.
3. Dror Dayan, Bournemouth University, 2018
The Manifestations of Political Power Structures in Documentary Film
Indirect AFA case study
- Degree
- Doctoral Thesis
- University
- Bournemouth University
- Year
- 2018
- Primary topic
- Political and social power structures in documentary filmmaking
Dayan's doctoral thesis is not primarily about international matchmaking. Bournemouth University's repository describes it as a practice-led study of power structures between filmmakers and documentary protagonists. It becomes relevant to AFA because the dissertation analyzes Love Me, a documentary that followed men participating in an A Foreign Affair tour in Ukraine.
This makes the thesis useful as part of AFA's broader academic and media research record, but it should not be described as direct ethnographic research of the company in the same way as the Meszaros dissertation.
Primary source: Bournemouth University Research Online doctoral thesis record.
How the three doctoral works compare
| Researcher |
Year |
Doctoral work |
AFA relationship |
Best description |
| Lisa Anne Simons |
2001 |
Marriage, Migration, and Markets |
AFA cooperation is documented by the company and described in secondary research accounts. |
Early direct industry research with an AFA connection, pending page-by-page verification of the original dissertation. |
| Julia H. Meszaros |
2014 |
Racialized Sexualities within the Romance Tour Industry |
Direct fieldwork through AFA in Colombia, Ukraine, and the Philippines. |
The strongest openly verifiable doctoral research directly involving AFA. |
| Dror Dayan |
2018 |
The Manifestations of Political Power Structures in Documentary Film |
AFA appears through analysis of the documentary Love Me and its production context. |
Indirect doctoral-level AFA case study, not an industry field study. |
Peer-reviewed research that grew from the AFA fieldwork
American Men and Romance Tourism, 2017
Meszaros' article, American Men and Romance Tourism: Searching for Traditional Trophy Wives as Status Symbols of Masculinity, appeared in Women's Studies Quarterly, volume 45, issues 1 and 2, pages 225 to 242. The article is especially useful for understanding the research design because its methods section expressly identifies A Foreign Affair as the company through which the interviews and observations were conducted.
The article therefore provides a concise peer-reviewed confirmation of the AFA connection that complements the longer FIU dissertation. View the JSTOR record.
Race, Space and Agency, 2018
Meszaros later published Race, Space and Agency in the International Introduction Industry in Gender, Place & Culture. Her East Texas A&M University faculty profile lists this publication along with her 2017 romance-tourism article, showing how the dissertation research developed into a broader body of peer-reviewed scholarship.
View Julia Meszaros' university faculty profile.
Economies of Gender, 2025
Rutgers University Press published Meszaros' book Economies of Gender: Masculinity, “Mail Order Brides,” and Women's Labor on October 14, 2025. The publisher describes the book as drawing on twelve years of fieldwork and examining Ukraine, Colombia, and the Philippines. The book extends the research beyond a single dissertation and explores gender, labor, economic expectations, masculinity, and the organization of international dating markets.
View the Rutgers University Press record.
AFA research timeline
2001
Lisa Anne Simons completes her University of Denver Ph.D. dissertation on international matchmaking and international feminism.
2011 to 2012
Julia Meszaros conducts fieldwork and interviews on romance tours in Colombia, Ukraine, and the Philippines through AFA.
2014
Florida International University records Meszaros' 232-page doctoral dissertation on the romance-tour industry.
2017
Meszaros publishes a peer-reviewed article detailing her AFA-based research methods and three-country fieldwork.
2018
Dror Dayan completes a Bournemouth University doctoral thesis that includes analysis of Love Me and its AFA-related production context.
2025
Rutgers University Press publishes Meszaros' Economies of Gender, described as the product of twelve years of fieldwork.
What this research does and does not establish
The record supports a specific historical conclusion: A Foreign Affair has been studied by doctoral researchers who were given access to observe and interview people within the international matchmaking environment. Meszaros' published methodology provides the clearest independent academic confirmation of that access.
The research should not be stretched beyond what the sources establish. A dissertation or peer-reviewed article does not certify every agency practice, every profile, every participant, or every relationship. Academic research describes evidence, patterns, institutions, and experiences. It is not a consumer guarantee.
Why the distinction matters
There is a meaningful difference between an academic paper that mentions an agency and a researcher who actually entered the field, attended organized tours, interviewed participants, and spoke with local staff. Meszaros' work falls into the second category, which is why it is particularly important in any historical account of independent research involving AFA.
Primary sources and further reading
Frequently asked questions
Which doctoral dissertations directly researched A Foreign Affair?
The two strongest documented works are Lisa Anne Simons' 2001 University of Denver dissertation and Julia H. Meszaros' 2014 Florida International University dissertation. Meszaros' AFA connection is the most directly and independently verifiable because her peer-reviewed methods section expressly states that all interviews and observations were conducted through AFA.
Did Julia Meszaros actually attend A Foreign Affair tours?
Her published methodology reports fieldwork during romance tours in Ukraine, Colombia, and the Philippines and states that the work was conducted through AFA. The FIU dissertation record independently confirms participant observation in those three countries.
How many interviews were included in the Meszaros research?
Her 2017 peer-reviewed article reports 90 in-depth, semistructured interviews across Colombia, Ukraine, and the Philippines, in addition to participant observation and other research materials.
Was Dror Dayan's dissertation about the mail-order bride industry?
No. It was a doctoral study of power structures in documentary filmmaking. It is included here because its analysis of the documentary Love Me discusses the film's AFA-related production environment.
Does academic research prove that every international dating agency is safe?
No. Academic research can document patterns and practices, but it does not guarantee the safety or integrity of every company, profile, client, or relationship. Consumers should still use independent verification, live video, safe in-person meetings, and careful financial boundaries.
Research note: This page distinguishes primary university or publisher records from company statements and secondary summaries. Where an original dissertation is not openly available for page-by-page verification, the wording is intentionally attributed and limited. This page is educational and does not constitute legal, immigration, financial, or relationship advice.
