Stephanie Savell
stephanie_savell@brown.edu
+1 401 585 0126
Senior Researcher
Co-Director of the Costs of War
Stephanie Savell is a public anthropologist who researches militarism, security, and civic engagement in relation to the United States post-9/11 wars and policing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As Co-Director of Costs of War, she serves as editor of the project's research papers and executive director of operations. Savell's global map of U.S. counterterrorism operations has been featured by USA Today, BBC World News, and Smithsonian magazine, among others. She has published in a number of academic journals, including American Ethnologist, media outlets such as The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and Axios, and is co-author of The Civic Imagination: Making a Difference in American Political Life (Routledge, 2014). Her interviews have appeared on NPR's 1A, Vox's podcast Today, Explained, The Problem with Jon Stewart, C-SPAN Washington Journal, and elsewhere. She earned her Ph.D. from Brown University.
“The Right to Public Security: Policing and Activism in a Rio de Janeiro Favela.” American Ethnologist. November 7, 2021.
“Policing Rio de Janeiro and Complexo da Maré,” in Maré from the Inside: Art, Culture, and Politics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, edited by Nicholas Barnes, Desirée Poets, and Max O. Stephenson, Jr. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech Publishing. (Co-authored with Nicholas Barnes.) 2021.
“The Costs of United States Security Assistance: How Counterterrorism Intensified Conflict in Burkina Faso and Around the World.” Costs of War, Watson Institute, Brown University. March 2021.
“United States Counterterrorism Operations 2018-2020.” Costs of War, Watson Institute, Brown University. February 2021.
“Numbers and Per Capita Distribution of Troops Serving in the U.S. Post-9/11 Wars in 2019, By State.” Costs of War, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University. (Co-authored with Rachel McMahon. Map designed by Maria Ji). 2020.
Television panelist, “The Problem with War: Digital Exclusive Panel.” The Problem with Jon Stewart, October 4.
Podcast interview. “After 20 Years, Measuring the True Costs of War.” Trending Globally (Watson Institute podcast), September 8.
Podcast interview. “The Cost of 9/11.” Today, Explained, Vox, September 8, 2021.
“Taking Stock: US Counterterrorism Interventions in Africa Today.” Invited speaker, Quincy Institute. Virtual Presentation, July 15.
Radio interview. “The Cost of US Counterterrorism Efforts.” WBUR (NPR Boston) Here and Now, March 2, 2021.
Research featured in “Exclusive: US Counterterrorism Operations Touched 85 Countries in the Last 3 Years Alone.” USA Today, Feb. 25, 2021.
February 3, 2022 Foreign Policy
Stephanie Savell in Foreign Policy, "...Burkina Faso’s war on jihadis obscures the government’s failure to alleviate poverty or fix state corruption, which are the deepest drivers of the militant movement."
October 20, 2021 The American Prospect
Stephanie Savell penned this article which states, "It’s clear that the U.S.-sponsored model of a "war on terror" fuels government repression of its own people and escalates cycles of violence" in reference to the Middle East and Africa.
September 27, 2021 Providence Journal
In this article, co-authors Cathy Lutz and Stephanie Savell discuss the human costs of post-9/11 wars.
September 24, 2021 PolitiFact
This piece cites Stephanie Savell and a map developed at Brown's Costs of War project that shows the scope of U.S. counterterrorism operations between 2018 and 2020, finding that it stretched into 85 countries.
September 2, 2021 News from Brown
This piece features an interview with Costs of War co-directors Cathy Lutz and Stephanie Savell on a new report ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
May 13, 2021 Common Dreams
This article includes commentary from Stephanie Savell and cites a visual essay featuring new Costs of War data.
May 12, 2021 Des Moines Register
This article cites the Costs of War project at Watson, referencing the amount of money spent on post-9/11 wars.