Watson Scholars Participate in APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition
August 24, 2022
Numerous Watson scholars participate in the American Political Science Association annual conference.
Robert Blair
Robert Blair
Arkadij Eisler Goldman Sachs Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs
Biography
Robert Blair is the Joukowsky Family Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown University. His research focuses on international intervention and the consolidation of state authority after civil war, with an emphasis on rule of law and security institutions. He also directs the Democratic Erosion project, a multi-university consortium that addresses the causes and consequences of democratic deconsolidation through a combination of teaching, research, and civic and policy engagement. He has conducted fieldwork on these and related topics in Colombia, Liberia, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, and the US. He has also worked in various capacities for the UN Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, the US Central Intelligence Agency’s Political Instability Task Force, USAID, Freedom House, and the Small Arms Survey. He holds a B.A. from Brown and a Ph.D in political science from Yale University. His research is published or forthcoming in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, World Politics, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and other venues. His book, Peacekeeping, Policing, and the Rule of Law after Civil War, was published in 2020 with Cambridge University Press.
Research
Robert Blair's research focuses on international intervention and the consolidation of state authority after civil war, with an emphasis on rule of law and security institutions. He also directs the Democratic Erosion project, a multi-university consortium that addresses the causes and consequences of democratic deconsolidation through a combination of teaching, research and civic and policy engagement.
Publications
“UN Peacekeeping and the Rule of Law.” 2021. American Political Science Review 115(1): 51-68
“Foreign Aid and State Legitimacy: Evidence on Chinese and US Aid to Africa from Surveys, Survey Experiments, and Behavioral Games” (with Philip Roessler). 2021. World Politics 73(2): 315-357
“Engineering Informal Institutions: Long-Run Impacts of Alternative Dispute Resolution on Violence and Property Rights in Liberia” (with Christopher Blattman and Alexandra Hartman). 2021. Journal of Politics 83(1): 381-389
“Building Credibility and Cooperation in Low-Trust Settings: Persuasion and Source Accountability in Liberia During the 2014–2015 Ebola Crisis” (with Benjamin Morse and Lily Tsai). 2020. Comparative Political Studies 54(10-11): 1582-1618
“Establishing the Rule of Law in Weak and War-torn States: Evidence from a Field Experiment with the Liberian National Police” (with Sabrina Karim and Benjamin Morse). 2019. American Political Science Review 113(3): 641-657
“International Intervention and the Rule of Law after Civil War: Evidence from Liberia.” 2019. International Organization 73(2): 365-398
Teaching
POLS1440: "Security, Governance and Development in Africa"
POLS1820X: "Democratic Erosion"
POLS1824: "Post-Conflict Politics"
POLS 2110: "Proseminar in Comparative Politics"
POLS2590: "Quantitative Research Methods"
News|Recent News
Foreign Aid and Soft Power: Great Power Competition in Africa in the Early Twenty-first Century
July 5, 2022
Professor Robert Blair recently authored a paper titled, "Foreign Aid and Soft Power: Great Power Competition in Africa in the Early Twenty-first Century" in the British Journal of Political Science published by Cambridge University Press.
Abortion battle moves to homes of Supreme Court justices (Rob Blair comments)
May 10, 2022 The Hill
Rob Blair comments on activists gathering outside the homes of three conservative Supreme Court justices to protest Roe v. Wade’s potential demise.
Preventing Rebel Resurgence after Civil War: A Field Experiment in Security and Justice Provision in Rural Colombia
April 4, 2022
Rob Blair recently co-authored this article on how states can prevent armed groups from exploiting local governance gaps to (re)establish territorial control during transitions to national peace.
Communication around masks is still terrible (commentary by Rob Blair)
July 23, 2021 The Verge
This article includes previous commentary from Rob Blair.
Can Americans Depolarize? New Research Shows an Initiative that Draws on Couples Therapy Can Reduce Hostility Between Democrats and Republicans
June 9, 2021
Rob Blair and co-authors recently wrote, "Can Americans Depolarize? Assessing the Effects of Reciprocal Group Reflection on Partisan Polarization," a piece analyzing an experimental evaluation of a unique depolarization initiative that draws on principles of couples therapy to mitigate hostility between Democrats and Republicans.
Foreign Aid and State Legitimacy
March 31, 2021
Robert Blair and Philip Roessler recently published, "Foreign Aid and State Legitimacy" which examines evidence on foreign aid from surveys, survey experiments, and behavioral games.
Events
Apr 11, 2022
Eric Mvukiyehe ─ Public Works and Intimate Partner Violence: Experimental Evidence from Egypt and Tunisia
12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Virtual. Email watsonevents@brown.edu for the Zoom meeting link.
Mar 30, 2021
Race, Ethnicity and Democratic Erosion in Comparative Perspective
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET Watch on Watson's YouTube channel.
Jan 14, 2021
POSTPONED: Can Biden Restore Democratic Norms?
4 p.m. – 5 p.m. This event has been postponed. Future date TBD.
Nov 13, 2020