Alexander B. Downes, Assistant Professor

Contact Info:

Education:

PhD, University of Chicago, 2004

M.A. (Honors), University of Chicago, 1998

B.A. (Magna Cum Laude), Brown University, 1991

Specialties:

International Relations
Security, Peace, and Conflict

Research Interests: Civilian victimization and civilian casualties, military effectiveness, settlements to civil wars, foreign-imposed regime change

Assistant Professor of Political Science specializing in international security. His research interests include the causes and effectiveness of civilian victimization in warfare, and the consequences of foreign-imposed regime change in international politics. His first book, Targeting Civilians in War, was published by Cornell University Press in 2008. Downes's research on civilian victimization has appeared in the journals International Security, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Civil Wars. Previous research on the relative efficacy of partition versus negotiated settlements as solutions to ethnic wars was published in Security Studies and SAIS Review. Downes has held fellowships at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies (Harvard University), the Center for International Security and Cooperation (Stanford University), and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (Harvard Kennedy School).

Curriculum Vitae

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. A.B. Downes, The Myth of Choosy Democracies: Examining the Selection Effects Theory of Democratic Victory in War, H-Diplo | ISSF Essays (January, 2011) [htm] .
2. A.B. Downes and M.L. Lilley, Overt Peace, Covert War? Covert Intervention and the Democratic Peace, Security Studies, vol. 19 no. 2 (June, 2010), pp. 366-406 [pdf]  [abs].
3. A.B. Downes and K.M. Cochran, It's a Crime, but Is It a Blunder? The Efficacy of Targeting Civilians in War (Submitted, 2010) [htm]  [abs].
4. A.B. Downes and J. Monten, FIRCed to be Free: Foreign-Imposed Regime Change and Democratization (Submitted, 2010) [pdf]  [abs].
5. A.B. Downes, Catastrophic Success: Foreign-Imposed Regime Change and Civil War (Submitted, 2010) [pdf]  [abs].