Welcome to The Quantitative Peace, a blog dedicated to empirical international relations and comparative politics with a specific focus on quantitative and formal studies. The goal is to discuss, elaborate, critique, and announce current and emerging research in the subfields that is relevant to the study of international relations and comparative politics. Additionally, upcoming events and announcements are posted while popular press articles and news stories are highlighted as they relate to our field. The blog was started April 23, 2008.
Why?
We at the Quantitative Peace believe that social scientists in international relations and comparative politics make an important contribution to understanding the systematic patterns across the globe. The field of world politics currently represents a pivotal interaction between markets, states, and non-state actors and has done so since the formation of states (if not before). However, the knowledge we have is not well disseminated to the public, and the blogs that report on emerging trends in the field are few in number. As such, we offer another avenue for which people can view important work, discuss its implications, and potentially engage its authors.
People
Michael is a Professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University with a focus in International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Methodology (quantitative and formal). His work includes issues related to military basing abroad, asymmetric relations, foreign policy, cooperation, and conflict. He received his Ph.D from Binghamton University in 2011.
Selected Works:
Allen, M. A., Flynn, M. E., Martinez Machain, C., & Stravers, A. (2020). Outside the Wire: U.S. Military Deployments and Public Opinion in Host States. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 326–341.
Allen, M. A., & DiGiuseppe, M. (2013). Tightening the Belt: Sovereign Debt and Alliance Formation. International Studies Quarterly, 57(4), 647–659.
K. Chad Clay is an Associate Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia and director of the Center for the Study of Global Issues (GLOBIS). He is co-director of the CIRI Human Rights Data Project and co-founder of the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI). He received his PhD in political science from Binghamton University in 2012. His areas of specialization are international relations, comparative politics, and quantitative methodology. His research focuses on the measurement, causes, and consequences of governments’ human rights practices, including the impact of NGO activity, sanctions, and military deployments on nations’ human rights behaviors.
Selected Works:
Cingranelli, D. L., Richards, D. L., & Clay, K. C. (2014). The CIRI Human Rights Dataset. Version 2014.04.14.
Clay, K. C., Bakker, R., Brook, A., Hill, D. W., & Murdie, A. (2020). Using Practitioner Surveys to Measure Human Rights: The Human Rights Measurement Initiative’s Civil & Political Rights Metrics. Journal of Peace Research, 57(6), 715–727.
Ben is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati. He received his PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University in 2014, and was previously an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Knox College. His research and teaching interests focus on political organizations and how under-represented groups mobilize for influence, as well as how technological innovations disrupt democratic institutions. He studies both American and Comparative politics.
Selected Works:
Farrer, B. (2017). Organizing for Policy Influence: Comparing Parties, Interest Groups, and Direct Action. Routledge.
Farrer, B. (2024). Political Communication as a Tragedy of the Commons. Political Studies, 72(2), 701–718.
Michael Flynn is currently a Professor and director of the security studies program in the Department of Political Science at Kansas State University. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Binghamton University in 2013 and was previously a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alabama. His research focuses on the political economy of foreign policy and U.S. foreign policy, including the political and economic determinants of military deployments and security commitments.
Selected Works:
Allen, M. A., Flynn, M. E., Martinez Machain, C., & Stravers, A. (2020). Outside the Wire: U.S. Military Deployments and Public Opinion in Host States. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 326–341.
Flynn, M. E., & Zingher, J. N. (2018). From on High: The Effect of Elite Polarization on Mass Attitudes and Behaviors, 1972–2012. British Journal of Political Science, 48(1), 23–45.
Carla is currently a Professor of Political Science at the University at Buffalo. Her research focuses on international security, foreign policy, power projection, and civil-military relations. In particular, she has been engaged in work on U.S. military deployments and basing, foreign military training, and how military policy shapes host-state public opinion and government behavior. Her book Beyond the Wire: U.S. Military Deployments and Host Country Public Opinion was published by Oxford University Press in 2022.
Selected Works:
Allen, M. A., Flynn, M. E., Martinez Machain, C., & Stravers, A. (2020). Outside the Wire: U.S. Military Deployments and Public Opinion in Host States. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 326–341.
Martinez Machain, C. (2021). Exporting Influence: U.S. Military Training as Soft Power. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 65(2–3), 313–341.
Julie VanDusky received her PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University and is an Associate Professor at Boise State University. She studies Comparative Politics, American Politics, and Quantitative Research Methods. Her research focuses on institutional and political party influences on executive-legislative relations, legislative organization, political participation, satisfaction with democracy, and public health outcomes. She has also done work on how U.S. troop deployments influence government spending and public opinion in host states. For her dissertation, she received a Fulbright to do archival research and teach in Mexico City in the 2008-2009 academic year.
Selected Works:
VanDusky-Allen, J., & Utych, S. M. (2021). The Effect of Partisan Representation at Different Levels of Government on Satisfaction with Democracy in the United States. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 21(4), 403–429.
VanDusky-Allen, J., Utych, S. M., & Catalano, M. (2022). Partisanship, Policy, and Americans’ Evaluations of State-Level COVID-19 Policies Prior to the 2020 Election. Political Research Quarterly, 75(2), 479–496.
Josh Zingher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Geography at Old Dominion University. He received his PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University. His research focuses on several aspects of American and comparative politics, including political behavior, parties, elections, and representation, with particular attention to the politics of race and class. His book Political Choice in a Polarized America was published by Oxford University Press in 2022.
Selected Works:
Zingher, J. N. (2018). Polarization, Demographic Change, and White Flight from the Democratic Party. Journal of Politics, 80(3), 860–872.
Flynn, M. E., & Zingher, J. N. (2018). From on High: The Effect of Elite Polarization on Mass Attitudes and Behaviors, 1972–2012. British Journal of Political Science, 48(1), 23–45.