New paper with Gage Gramlick: "The Civil War Origins of Fiscal Policing." Original data from the DC Metropolitan Police show rapid growth of fine revenue during the Civil War, consistent w/ theories of wartime state-building & bureaucratic autonomy. Feedback welcome! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

CfP for our 3rd Annual HPE Conference @uscprice.bsky.social @usc.edu sponsored by @usccis.bsky.social and PIPE. Submit by May 30. If you work on MENA, I am running a smaller pre-conference for HPE papers focused on the region. @polisky.bsky.social docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Excited to be co-organizing the Multi-Method Conflict Consortium at Duke May 15-16 with @meganastewart.bsky.social & @dotanhaim.bsky.social! Advanced PhD candidates and postdocs are invited to apply for our funded Junior Fellowship, deadline March 10: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Very excited to be co-hosting with @dotanhaim.bsky.social & @meganastewart.bsky.social the Multi-Method Conflict Consortium (M2C2) Mini-Conference at Duke May 15-16! PhD candidates & postdoctoral fellows are invited to apply for our Junior Fellowship. Apply here by Mar. 10: forms.gle/Vy6h53639F8B...

Important reading from @saskiabr.bsky.social on threats to women's rights in the context of democratic backsliding: "...Antidemocratic actors intentionally use gender to polarize the public and delegitimize broader human rights and equality norms." @carnegiedcg.bsky.social

You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

🆕South Sudan is one of the most fragile states—but that fragility varies subnationally @gabriellalevy2.bsky.social and @mararevkin.bsky.social led a Duke University team to create the Fragility Index, mapping this variation Their @iom.int report shows how this novel index can inform recovery⤵️

I appreciate @nytimes reporting on this often-forgotten crisis in Syria, but the article makes a common mistake: conflating 2 *VERY* different populations & sites: • (1) ISIS combatants in prisons • (2) civilians, mostly children, in humanitarian "closed camps" ... [thread 1/6]

By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000. More than 260,000 will be children. Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...

ICYMI in a very bad news week: On 9/9, Israel ordered a complete evacuation of Gaza City; aside from clear violations of international law, this powerful visual story @josh-h.bsky.social shows how residents have nowhere to go: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... See also: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Intentional starvation of civilians as a method of war is always a war crime. Non-reciprocity of international humanitarian law means that no amount of alleged aid diversion by Hamas could ever justify this. Horrifying but necessary reading, see also: www.btselem.org/sites/defaul... (1+ year ago)

We're announcing our Fall 2025 call for applications! Deadline to apply is August 14, feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

🚨FYI Search Committees! The extraordinarily talented and kind @benckrick.bsky.social will be on the political science job market soon-ish and some lucky department should hire him while you still can!

Excited to share a new open-access article with @benckrick.bsky.social @jonpetkun.bsky.social in @iojournal.bsky.social, "Civilian Harm & Military Legitimacy" www.cambridge.org/core/journal.... This project started in 2018 Mosul, Iraq’s 2nd largest city, in the aftermath of a 9-month battle … 1/7

Grateful for the opportunity to write with @oonahathaway.bsky.social & @azmatzahra.bsky.social + work with @yalelawjournal.bsky.social on "The Dangerous Rise of 'Dual-Use' Objects in War": www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-.... More on data & methods here: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...

It's out! The Dangerous Rise of "Dual-Use" Objects in War Coauthored with @mararevkin.bsky.social and @azmatzahra.bsky.social. We show that the targeting of dual-use objects over the last several decades has placed civilians at great risk. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

We also have some great dynamic data visualizations (with links to the full dataset on Dataverse)! Check them out here: dualuse.law.yale.edu

If you're starting law school this fall, you might be interested in my short essay, "How to Read a Legal Opinion: A Guide for New Law Students." You can download it for free here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Must-read special issue in Dædalus (open-access!) on research ethics in the Middle East & North Africa by an extraordinary group of scholars covering threats to academic freedom, the politics & economics of knowledge production, disinformation, AI & much more: direct.mit.edu/daed/article....

FYI: The Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have collaborated to offer $25K rapid response grants. "This rapid response bridge funding opportunity is for scholars and teams whose grants have recently been cancelled by NSF."

Terrible news and a setback for research on police violence against civilians and the many students supported by @sabrinamkarim.bsky.social's NSF grant. Follow @gsslab.bsky.social for more about her important work with the Gender and Security Sector Lab: www.sabrinamkarim.com/gsslab

Very excited about this new article by @jonpetkun.bsky.social & Joe Schottenfeld in the GW Law Review, "The Judicial Administrative Power"! Describes three functions of "nonadjudicatory activities" performed by federal courts: rulemaking, managing & communicating: www.gwlr.org/wp-content/u... 1/2

Really proud of my new article with the extraordinary Joe Schottenfeld (coming to a job market near you in the not-too-distant future!). We consider the federal judiciary's vast "administrative" powers and offer a few modest ideas for reform. Read @ www.gwlr.org/the-judicial... (thank you editors!)

As many of you know, staff at the US Institute of Peace (myself included) were fired en masse last Friday night. It’s a tough beat -- my amazing colleagues deserve better. It’s also not over, as USIP’s board is contesting the DOGE takeover in court. 1/ www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Inspired by calls to reimagine the space currently populated by international criminal law, Meg deGuzman's and my essay engages in feminist dreaming—that is, seeks to reimagine accountability as it could be, viewed through a feminist lens. Now up @ssrn.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Congratulations @edebruin.bsky.social @gabriellalevy2.bsky.social, Livia Schubiger & @miweintraub83.bsky.social on this important contribution!

Grateful to the editors & reviewers @iojournal.bsky.social for a very constructive review process and conditional acceptance of "Civilian Harm & Military Legitimacy in War: Evidence from the Battle of Mosul in Iraq" with @benckrick.bsky.social @jonpetkun.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Thrilled to see my article -- showing how a private organization has shaped, and diluted, an international human rights norm -- in AJIL! It shows how a global sport governing body has responded to legal challenges by retrofitting 'gender equality' to align with exclusionary regulatory practices.

So looking forward to being part of, and learning from, this important conversation on Syria!

Thank you for sharing your story @imad-alhajj21.bsky.social. For those who don't know Imad, we at Duke are incredibly proud of & inspired by his journey from Syria to a career in peacebuilding, humanitarian aid & transitional justice: sanford.duke.edu/story/2024-g.... After graduating in May ... 1/3

Very excited for this discussion on prospects for peace & justice in post-Assad Syria at Duke on Feb. 11 with 3 of my favorite experts on human rights, humanitarian aid, civil society & justice, @rbkhoury.bsky.social @imad-alhajj21.bsky.social & Sara Kayyali, co-moderated with Adam Mestyan:

Informative reporting by @jasonkoebler.bsky.social on efforts by archivists to preserve datasets that are rapidly disappearing from data.gov; 2,000+ removed since Jan. 21. See @harvardlil.bsky.social's growing collection of 305K+ government datasets: lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2025/01...

Just got a story approved to run on Monday on the crisis happening at the NSF. If you are an NSF-funded scientist and have been personally impacted by the funding pause this week, I'd love to hear from you. Reach me securely on Signal: 3162958947

Ominous heads-up from Duke anticipating likely effects of Executive Orders on our research operations:

This is devastating news. The office is doing extremely important work to reduce civilian casualties caused by our own forces and setting new standards for other states in the process. More innocent civilians will die in conflict as a result. www.stripes.com/theaters/us/...

I am currently developing an online speakers series where academics and practitioners can learn from each other about using data for good. Please take the following one-minute survey to let me know if you want to participate in this speakers series: forms.gle/Sd3kwX4aRweh...

So I made this starter pack about political scientists working in threats to democracy and then it went bonkers viral 😅. Any suggestions for this pack, pls let me know (including yourself!). PPL have gotten ~500 follows on it since *this morning*... #polisky go.bsky.app/9V9zguB

ICYMI: Excellent and timely analysis of patterns of nonviolent civil organizing in Syria by @rbkhoury.bsky.social & @aasiegel.bsky.social for @goodauth.bsky.social summarizing their important new article in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... @apsamena.bsky.social

Are you a PhD candidate studying political violence? Consider applying for the HFG Emerging Scholar award. $25k toward finishing up your diss. Deadline: 1 Feb. Details/Apply: www.hfg.org/emerging-sch...

The return and reintegration of Iraqis with perceived ISIL affiliation is crucial for post-conflict peacebuilding and stabilization. However, these returnees face steep social and economic barriers, @mararevkin.bsky.social @benckrick.bsky.social & Dr. Raed Aldulaimi find in their UNIDIR report⬇️

New report by me, @benckrick.bsky.social & Dr. Raed al-Dulaimi for UNIDIR on attitudes toward Iraqis with perceived ties to ISIL based on original survey data and interviews. We find that stigmatization persists 8 years after ISIL's territorial defeat, even of children: unidir.org/publication/...

International law and the issue of recognition of the government of #Syria under Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule. By Justin Cole and Oona Hathaway (@oonahathaway.bsky.social)

The consortium is co-organized with the incredible Megan Stewart (@meganastewart.bsky.social) and Mara Revkin (@mararevkin.bsky.social). Together, we’re building a community of conflict scholars to foster collaboration across diverse methods and perspectives. 🎓 #Conflictsky

🚨 Call for Proposals! 🚨 Seeking junior scholars of conflict & violence for the Multi-Method Conflict Consortium (M2C2) Mini-Conference: ✨ March 21-22 @ FSU ✨ $1,250 honorarium ✨ Eligible: <3 yrs tenure track ✨ Mentorship & panels 📄 Full CfP: bit.ly/M2C2-CfP 📅 Apply by Jan 10: bit.ly/M2C2-Submit

Thanks @ayesharascoe.bsky.social @npr.org for inviting me to discuss ISIS' evolution since its territorial defeat: www.npr.org/2025/01/05/n.... More on ISIS' theory of the "gray zone" & how it exploits Islamophobic & anti-immigrant policies in my 2016 @foreignaffairs.com article tinyurl.com/4y3may85

Looking to build tools to engage in more public or policy-relevant writing and research? The deadline for BtG's International Policy Summer Institute is 26 January. Happy to answer any questions for folks interested in applying.

Great job opportunity for a data scientist interested in empirical legal scholarship @dukelaw.bsky.social: careers.duke.edu/job/Durham-D...

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria once again raises the challenging issue of recognition of a new government. In this new article, forthcoming in NYU Law Review, we review the (extremely messy) international law of government recognition. You can read it here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Important new book by @alichtenheld.bsky.social draws on field research in Uganda & Syria and an original dataset of 166 civil wars to show how armed groups use strategic displacement of civilians to "sort" rather than eliminate, inferring "guilt by location": www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...

Applications are open for the third year of the Pathways summer research program at MIT! Please share with interested undergrads. (TL;DR is: paid opportunity to check out PhD life for students who might not think it's open to them) @nlnathan.bsky.social