I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at Drexel University, where I also serve as affiliated faculty with the Center for Public Policy. Previously, I was a Niehaus Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth College and a Peace Scholar Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from Emory University, where I received the Pursuit of Excellence Award for my research. My fieldwork since 2007 in Uganda, along with policy work in Kenya, Liberia, and Burundi, anchors my scholarship in deep empirical engagement. My curriculum vitae is available here.
My book manuscript, The Repression Dilemma: Trust, Political Violence, and Policing (under review), builds on a series of articles published in Journal of Peace Research and Journal of Conflict Resolution. In this work, I show how repression and coercive policing shape governance, trust, and legitimacy, especially in authoritarian contexts. I have also published related work on conflict, political violence, and human rights in International Security, European Journal of International Relations}, Journal of Global Security Studies and Political Research Quarterly. Drawing on my experience with the Carter Center, I published an article on election monitoring in International Interactions. I have ongoing projects on human rights abuses in conflict and international peacebuilding, including a recent UN evaluation of their work in Burundi. I am in the early stages of beginning a research agenda on the global politics of national parks and protected lands – considering how land designations shapes issues of conservation, environmental politics, and human rights.
Collaboration is central to my research agenda. I have co-led projects with colleagues at at a number of institutions, securing competitive research grants from funders such as the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Folke Bernadotte Academy, and Drexel University. These collaborations highlight my commitment to connecting rigorous social science with policy practice.
I am committed to public engagement and mentorship. I worked as an election data analyst with the Carter Center’s Election Observation Missions in Kenya, Liberia, and Nepal, and I provided expert testimony in Ugandan political asylum cases. At Drexel, I advise student researchers through the STAR Scholars Program and serve on departmental and university committees. I have also contributed to the African Politics Conference Group, an organized section of the American Political Science Association, as a division chair and executive board member. Additionally, I have written for The Washington Post, Political Violence at a Glance, and Democracy in Africa.
Travis B. Curtice 