Research Interests for Kyle Beardsley

Kyle Beardsley (Ph.D., UCSD, 2006) is Associate Professor of Political Science. His research interests include the political consequences and causes of third-party involvement in peace processes, the nature of intrastate rebellion, the motivations for and implications of gender balancing in post-conflict security forces, and the effects of nuclear-weapons proliferation on crisis behavior. His book, The Mediation Dilemma, explores how third-party conflict management frequently does well in securing short-term peace but also can contribute to greater instability in the long run, especially when the third parties rely on leverage. Prior to coming to Duke, Prof. Beardsley was on faculty at Emory University.

Keywords:

Conflict management, Gender in conflict management, Mediation, International, Nuclear Weapons, Peacekeeping forces, Political violence

Recent Publications

1. Wilkenfeld, J; Beardsley, K; James, P, A CENTURY OF INTERNATIONAL CRISIS BEHAVIOR (January, 2026), pp. 1-518, ISBN 9780472078189 [doi] [abs]
2. Beardsley, K, Mixed Blessings International Relationships of Assistance and Conflict (2026), ISBN 9781009782289
3. Chen, C; Beardsley, K; Weidmann, NB, The grass is always greener on the other side: Transnational ethnic inequality and ethno-nationalist conflict, Journal of Peace Research, vol. 62 no. 7 (December, 2025), pp. 2355-2370, SAGE Publications [doi] [abs]
4. Lobell, SE; James, P; Silverstone, SA; Asal, V; Beardsley, K; Gonzalez, E; Ripsman, NM; Adhikari, S; Levy, SW; Sorci, G; Jahanbani, N; van Wijk, A, Understanding Near Crises and Escalation in World Politics: A Mixed Methods Approach (January, 2025), pp. 1-153, Routledge [doi] [abs]
5. Beardsley, K, The Coevolution of Networks of Interstate Support, Interstate Threat, and Civil War, Journal of Politics, vol. 86 no. 4 (October, 2024), pp. 1418-1430 [doi] [abs]