Robert Blair
Joukowsky Family Assistant Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs
Robert Blair is an Assistant 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 and Côte d'Ivoire. 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, Journal of Politics, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly and other venues. His book, Peacekeeping, Policing and the Rule of Law after Civil War, is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.
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.
"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
"The Impact of International Interventions to Empower Women in Post-Conflict Countries: Lab-in-the-Field Evidence from the Liberian National Police" (with Kyle Beardsley, Michael Gilligan and Sabrina Karim). 2018. International Studies Quarterly 62(3): 618-631
"Predicting Local Violence: Evidence from a Panel Survey in Liberia" (with Christopher Blattman and Alexandra Hartman). 2017. Journal of Peace Research 54(2): 298-312
"Public Health and Public Trust: Survey Evidence from the Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic in Liberia" (with Benjamin Morse and Lily Tsai). 2017. Social Science & Medicine 172: 89-97
"On the Rights of Warlords: Legitimate Authority and Basic Protection in War-Torn Societies" (with Pablo Kalmanovitz). 2016. American Political Science Review 110(3): 428-440
"How to Promote Order and Property Rights under Weak Rule of Law? An Experiment in Changing Dispute Resolution Behavior through Community Education" (with Christopher Blattman and Alexandra Hartman). 2014. American Political Science Review 108(1): 100- 120
POLS1440: "Security, Governance and Development in Africa"
POLS1820X: "Democratic Erosion"
POLS1824: "Post-Conflict Politics"
POLS2590: "Quantitative Research Methods"
March 11, 2020 The Verge
Rob Blair offered commentary on how people often turn to misinformation out of fear and when they can’t access or don’t trust information from experts or public health
March 2, 2020 Forbes
This article references a study co-authored by Robert Blair, which showed how efforts to increase communication between the government and the people helped in the battle against the deadly Ebola virus.
January 29, 2020 The Verge
Watson faculty member Robert Blair in The Verge, "Ultimately, in moments of crisis, public health crises and others, governments have to rely on a baseline level of citizen trust in order to organize an effective response to that crisis."
July 22, 2019
In new research, Assistant Professor Rob Blair uses Hobbes’s Leviathan to demonstrate why severely victimized citizens of wartime violence should lean on centralized authorities more instead of local ones, in post-conflict settings.
April 30, 2019 The Washington Post
Assistant Professor Robert Blair in The Washington Post, " Beyond the lives lost and livelihoods destroyed, the Liberian civil wars shattered the already-strained relationship between citizens and the Liberian government, especially the police and courts."
April 16, 2019
In a new study, co-author Robert Blair reports findings from a field experiment with the Liberian National Police’s (LNP) “Confidence Patrols” program, following years of civil war in the country.
March 6, 2019 Inside Higher Ed
Assistant professor Robert Blair in Inside Higher Ed, "Studying democratic erosion abroad increases optimism about those prospects, instilling confidence in the strength and longevity of American democratic norms and institutions."