The Ford School welcomes Christian Davenport as faculty with a courtesy appointment. Davenport’s primary research interests include political conflict (particularly that involve governments and those affiliated with them) and peace and peacemaking (particularly understanding what it is, how it can be measured and what can be done to create/sustain/expand it.)
This fall, he will teach a Ford School course on civil conflict that cuts across disciplines and fields of study. He collaborates internationally as a research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and as co-director of Conflict & Peace, Research & Development, a scholarly community focused on political conflict and peace through the use of rigorous, evidence-based research as well as community-building related efforts around relevant themes.
“Christian adds an important voice for our community. He brings a range of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the dynamics of conflict: political conflict, social movements, civil unrest and civil war, military and police use of force, the coercive power of the state, terrorism, and efforts to overcome violence, as through peacemaking. His perspectives will broaden our students’ frames of reference at a critical time,” said Ford School Dean Michael S. Barr.
“I very much look forward to joining the Ford School community,” said Davenport. “In many respects, the connection is a natural one for me. I have always been interested in trying to impact the world around us either through advising/consulting or more directly working with social movement activists, human rights organizations, civil society institutions and/or government institutions. This interest might also explain my use of varied material in order to reach distinct audiences: e.g., comics, board games, film, fine art, and poetry.”
Christian Davenport is a Professor of Political Science in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and courtesy faculty at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He is a Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies and Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). He is the author of six books and numerous articles that have appeared in the American Political Science Review, the American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Political Studies, and the Monthly Review (among others). He is also engaged in various projects concerning state-dissident interactions in the United States, India and Northern Ireland as well as a global project of Perpetrator-Victim Dyads for 1976-2006.
