Home :: People ::  Faculty :: Alexander B. Downes

Alexander B. Downes, Assistant Professor

Alexander B. Downes
Contact Info:
On leave 2009 - 2010
Office Location: 
Office Phone:  (919) 660-4345
Email Address:  
Web Page:   http://www.duke.edu/~downes

Education:

PhD, University of Chicago, 2004
M.A. (Honors), University of Chicago, 1998
B.A. (Magna Cum Laude), Brown University, 1991
Specialties:

International Relations
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, Correspondence: Another Skirmish in the Battle over Democracies and War, International Security, vol. 34 no. 2 (Fall, 2009) .
  2. A.B. Downes, Are Democracies as Smart and Tough as We Think They Are? Reassessing Theories of Democratic Victory in War, International Security, vol. 33 no. 4 (Spring, 2009), pp. 9-51 .
  3. A.B. Downes, Targeting Civilians in War (2008), Cornell University Press .
  4. A.B. Downes, Draining the Sea by Filling the Graves: Investigating the Effectiveness of Indiscriminate Violence as a Counterinsurgency Strategy, Civil Wars, vol. 9 no. 4 (December, 2007), pp. 420-444 .
  5. A.B. Downes, Introduction: Modern Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Comparative Perspective, Civil Wars, vol. 9 no. 4 (December, 2007), pp. 313-323 .