Welcome!
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. In 2023 I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. My work spans international relations and comparative politics, with a substantive focus on the political economy of conflict and migration. The main questions motivating my research are: (1) how counterinsurgency policies impact rebel and civilian behavior; and (2) how prospective hosts respond to forcibly displaced people. In a related, secondary agenda, I also investigate public opinion on foreign policy. I use an array of quantitative and qualitative tools, including design-based causal inference, original and archival data collection, and qualitative interviews. Geographically, I concentrate on the Global South, namely the Middle East and Africa.
My research is published or forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science, the American Political Science Review, International Organization, and the Journal of Politics, among others. I have received generous financial support from the World Bank, Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS), Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP), the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANN), the Office of the Provost at the University of Pennsylvania, the Fels Policy Research Initiative, and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, among others. You can also find my commentary in Foreign Affairs, the Washington Post, Defense One, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
I hold a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. with Highest Distinction in Foreign Affairs and History from the University of Virginia, where I participated in the Distinguished Majors Program. For more information about my research, teaching, data, or service please contact me at chris.blair@princeton.edu. You can also find me on Twitter.
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. In 2023 I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. My work spans international relations and comparative politics, with a substantive focus on the political economy of conflict and migration. The main questions motivating my research are: (1) how counterinsurgency policies impact rebel and civilian behavior; and (2) how prospective hosts respond to forcibly displaced people. In a related, secondary agenda, I also investigate public opinion on foreign policy. I use an array of quantitative and qualitative tools, including design-based causal inference, original and archival data collection, and qualitative interviews. Geographically, I concentrate on the Global South, namely the Middle East and Africa.
My research is published or forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science, the American Political Science Review, International Organization, and the Journal of Politics, among others. I have received generous financial support from the World Bank, Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS), Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP), the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANN), the Office of the Provost at the University of Pennsylvania, the Fels Policy Research Initiative, and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, among others. You can also find my commentary in Foreign Affairs, the Washington Post, Defense One, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
I hold a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. with Highest Distinction in Foreign Affairs and History from the University of Virginia, where I participated in the Distinguished Majors Program. For more information about my research, teaching, data, or service please contact me at chris.blair@princeton.edu. You can also find me on Twitter.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5774-5976