Dissertation

My dissertation research explores variation in third party efforts to end violent conflict.  I explore differences in the occurrence and method of outside involvement across conflicts & the results of this variation on the effectiveness of management efforts. The project illustrates the need for a holistic approach when examining conflict management, as existing research focuses solely on the outcomes of single methods of conflict management.  I argue that third party efforts are the result of policymakers’ utility of obtaining a settlement, the expected costs of involvement, and the probability that their efforts will be successful. The third party must consider the conditions under which the disputants will settle to determine the probability of conflict resolution, and they then choose a method of management accordingly. This theoretical model allows me to develop hypotheses about which conflicts receive third party management, the actors that manage conflicts, and the outcomes of their efforts.  You can get a link to my dissertation abstract here.

Publications

“Assessing Outcomes: Conflict Management and the Durability of Peace” (with Scott Gartner). Forthcoming
in Sage Handbook on Conflict Resolution. edited by Jacob Bercovitch, Victor Kremenyuk, and I. William
Zartman. Thousand Oaks: Sage Press.   Download PDF

“Potential Peacemakers: Establishing a Population of Third Parties Considering Mediation.”  Forthcoming in 
Empirical Studies in International Mediation: New Approaches and Findings. Edited by Jacob
Bercovitch and Scott Sigmund Gartner.  Rutledge Press.

Working Papers

“It Takes Two to Fight but Three to Mediate: Analyzing the Occurrence of Third Party Conflict Management.”
(with Scott Gartner and Jacob Bercovitch). Download PDF

“Jumping into the Fray: Alliance, Power, Institutions and the Timing of Conflict Expansion.” (with Michael
Koch).  Download PDF

Conference Papers

International Studies Association, Chicago, IL.

“Do Conflicts Matter? Analyzing Third Party Choice of Intervention in Conflicts.” 2006. With Scott Gartner
and Jacob Bercovitch. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association,
Philadelphia, PA.

“Short Lived Settlements and Dispute Mediation.” 2005. With Scott Gartner and Jacob Bercovitch.
Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois.

“A Time for War and a Time for Peace: The Issue of Timing and the Expansion of Militarized Interstate
Disputes.” 2005. Presented at the joint meeting of the International Studies Association and the World
International Studies Committee, Istanbul, Turkey.

“Is There Method in the Madness of Mediation?: Lessons from Quantitative Studies of International
Mediation.” 2005. With Scott Gartner and Jacob Bercovitch. Presented at the annual meeting of the
American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C..

“The Opposing Effects of Mediation on Conflict Settlement Durability.” 2004. With Scott Gartner and Jacob
Bercovitch. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago,
Illinois.