UWISC: International Security Colloquium
The University of Washington International Security Colloquium (UWISC) is the only academic colloquium devoted to international security in the Pacific Northwest. The Colloquium is interdisciplinary and open to the public and sponsors seven to nine domestic and international speakers, as well as speakers from UW faculty and students. All lectures are held Fridays from 12:00-1:20pm in the Olson Room/Gowen 1a.
UWISC is sponsored by the Severyns-Ravenholt Endowment, the Richard B. Wesley Graduate Student Fund for International Relations, the UW Political Science Department, and the Center for Global Studies at the Jackson School of International Studies. Visit the UWISC website.
Upcoming Events

Bree Bang-Jensen, Political Science Ph.D Candidate
UW International Security Colloquium
UW International Security Colloquium

Beth Simmons, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
UW International Security Colloquium
UW International Security Colloquium

Jennifer Spindel, Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire
UW International Security Colloquium
UW International Security Colloquium
Past Events
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
UW International Security Colloquium Kelebogile Zvobgo, Assistant Professor, William and Mary |
Mar 5 | 1:30pm to 3:00pm | Zoom invitation from Bree Bang-Jensen via uwisc@uw.edu |
UW International Security Colloquium: Sherry Zaks, "Resilience Beyond Rebellion: How Today’s Rebels Become Tomorrow’s Parties" Sherry Zaks, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California |
Jan 22 | 1:30pm to 3:00pm | Location: Zoom invitation from Bree Bang-Jensen via uwisc@uw.edu |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
University of Washington International Security Colloquium - Talk Title TBD Michael Horowitz from University of Pennsylvania |
Nov 16 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen Hall 1A (Olson Room) |
University of Washington International Security Colloquium - "The Negativity Bias in International Politics" Dominic Tierney from Swarthmore College |
Oct 26 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A (Olson Room) |
University of Washington International Security Colloquium - Talk Title TBD Anna Zelenz, UW PhD student from Department of Political Science |
Oct 12 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen Hall 1A (Olson Room) |
Arms for Influence: The Global Arms Trade and the Future of U.S. Power Jonathan Caverley, United States Naval War College |
May 11 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
The Insecurity Trap: State Security and the Monopoly on Violence in Low Intensity Armed Conflicts Milli Lake, London School of Economics |
Apr 20 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
Arctic Motivations: Security v. Environmentalism in State Circumpolar Strategies Ellen Ahlness, UW Ph.D Student, Political Science |
Apr 13 | 1:30pm to 3:00pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
Is the Good News About Law Compliance Good News About Norm Compliance? The Case of Racial Equality Zoltán Búzás, Drexel University |
Mar 2 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
Economic Interdependence and the First World War Jack Levy, Rutgers University |
Feb 16 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
CANCELED: Making Amends: The New Politics of Global Reparations Kathy Powers, University of New Mexico |
Jan 19 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
European Integration Detour: The Contentious Politics of EU Migrant Benefits Jonathan Beck, UW Ph.D Student, Political Science |
Dec 8 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
Human Rights and Humanitarianism: Distinctions with or Without a Difference? Michael Barnett, George Washington University |
Oct 27 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
Women Militants and Rebel Trajectory in Asymmetric Conflict Meredith Loken, UW Ph.D Student, Political Science |
Sep 29 | 1:30pm to 3:00pm | Olson Room (Gowen 1A) |
The Idea of Battle in World Politics Tarak Barkawi (London School of Economics & Political Science) |
May 26 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
How do previous dispute rulings affect future outcomes? Jeffrey Kucik (City College of New York) |
Apr 28 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
CANCELED: The Impact of FDI Inflow on Political Instability in Authoritarian Regimes Jakana Thomas (Michigan State University) |
Apr 21 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
Market Pressure and Ideological Desire: The Politics of Post-Crisis Policy Reform Travis Nelson |
Mar 31 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
Military Outsourcing: Battlefield Effectiveness and Foreign Proxies Christopher Colligan, University of Washington |
Feb 17 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
CANCELED: Humanitarianism and Human Rights: Distinctions With or Without a Difference? Michael Barnett, George Washington University |
Feb 10 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
UWISC: How Risky is Popular Dissent? Erica Chenoweth, University of Denver |
Jan 20 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Olson Room/Gowen Hall 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
University of Washington International Security Colloquium: International Peacebuilding and Local Success: Assumptions, Myths and Reality Severine Autesserre, Barnard College, Columbia University |
Dec 9 | 11:30am to 1:00pm | Gowen 1A |
University of Washington International Security Colloquium: Status-enhancing Multilateralism: France in Africa Since 1994 Stefano Recchia, Cambridge |
Oct 21 | 11:30am to 1:00pm | Gowen 1A |
Violence by the People, for the People: Torture and Police Brutality in Democracies Paige Sechrest, PhD student, University of Washington Department of Political Science |
Sep 30 | 11:30am to 12:50pm | The Olson Room (Gowen Hall room 1A) |
A Mongrel-American Social Science: International Relations Robert Vitalis, Professor, Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania |
Jun 3 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
Narratives of Protest in Syria Wendy Pearlman, Associate Professor, Political Science at Northwestern University |
May 27 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
Networks of Sectarianism: Experimental Evidence on Access to Services in Baghdad Fotini Christia, Associate Professor, Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Apr 22 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | |
Dynamics of Insurgency: Historical Process and Alliance Formation Anna Zelenz, PhD student, University of Washington, Department of Political Science |
Apr 1 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
In & Out of Bounds: Black State Membership in Regional Organizations Vanessa Quince, PhD Student, University of Washington, Political Science Department |
Feb 12 | 12:00am to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
Keeping the Gloves On? Anti-Torture Norms and British Counterterrorism from the IRA to Al Qaeda Frank Foley, Lecturer, King's College London |
Feb 5 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
UWISC: Classical Realism in World Politics Jonathan Kirshner (Cornell University) |
Nov 20 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
UWISC: An Experimental Test of Social Contact Theory in Nigeria Alexandra Scacco, New York University |
Oct 2 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
CANCELED: Classical Realism in World Politics Jonathan Kirshner, Cornell College |
May 29 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
UWISC Talk: What if NATO Hadn't Expanded ? A Counterfactual Analysis of Russia and the West Kimberly Marten, Barnard College |
May 1 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
Active Defense: Explaining the Evolution of China's Military Strategy Taylor Fravel, MIT |
Apr 17 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
From War-Making to State-Making in the post-Soviet de facto States Kristin Bakke, University College London |
Feb 13 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
The Resource-Conflict Nexus: Opium and Insurgency in the Shan State of Burma John Buchanan, UW Political Science |
Jan 30 | 12:00pm to 1:30pm | Gowen 1A |
Gender and Political Violence Meredith Loken, Political Science Ph.D. Student, University of Washington |
Jan 16 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Variation in Rationality in Foreign Policy Decision-Making Brian Rathbun, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Southern California |
Nov 21 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Civilian Side Choosing in Insurgency Emily Gade, Political Science Ph.D. Student, University of Washington |
Oct 31 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
ISLL and gender based violence in the caliphate: is there a sexul jihad? Mia Bloom, Lecturer, Professor of Security Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell |
Oct 10 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Geography, Maritime Power, and the Pacific Rivalry Jennifer Lind, Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth College |
May 23 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Affected Actors: Theorizing Affective Politics after 9/11 Todd Hall, Lecturer, St. Anne's College, Department of Politics and International Relations |
Apr 11 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Springs and Their Offspring: The International Consequences of Domestic Uprisings John Owen, Professor, Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics, University of Virginia |
Mar 7 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Islamic States and the Securitization of the Muslim Self Matthew Nelson, Reader, Department of Politics and International Studies, School of African and Oriental Studies (London, UK) |
Feb 14 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Asian Designs: Risen Powers and the Struggle for International Governance Saadia Pekkanen, Job & Gertrud Tamaki Professor at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington |
Jan 17 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Strategic Export Controls: Explaining Divergence among Similar Countries on Similar Strategic Goods Crystal Pryor, UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department |
Nov 15 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Electoral Violence in New Democracies: Institutionalizing Peaceful Transitions Stephan Hamberg, UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department |
Nov 1 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Secessionism and Civilian Targeting Tanisha Fazal, Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame |
Oct 18 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Norms and Torture William d’Ambruoso (UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department) |
May 3 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Why and Under What Conditions Do Civilians Oppose Groups Who Brutalize Them? Emily Gade, UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department |
Mar 8 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Verification Mechanisms in International Agreements Kristan Seibel (UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department) |
Feb 8 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Friends Under Fire: Blame Attributions in the Fog of War Andrew Cockrell, UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department |
Jan 18 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Evangelicals and Insurgents: Narratives and Violence in the Peruvian Civil War Steven Zech (UW Ph.D. student, Political Science Department) |
Nov 30 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
The Collapse of Soviet Deterrence Theory, 1979-1989 Christopher Jones (UW Professor, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies) |
Nov 2 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Development of Democracy in the Middle East Matthew E. Goldman (UW Ph.D. student, Near and Middle East Studies) |
Oct 12 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Aid Under Fire: How Development Projects Impact Civil Conflict Patrick Johnston, Associate Political Scientist, RAND Coorporation |
May 11 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
International Politics: The Rules of the Game Yuen Foong Khong (Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford) |
Apr 27 | 12:20pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Severyns Ravenholt Seminar in Comparative Politics/UWISC Lecture on Regional Security in Asia Barry Buzan (Montague Burton Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science) |
Apr 6 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Natural disasters and civil conflict Joshua Eastin, UW Political Science Ph.D student |
Mar 9 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Electoral Violence in New Democracies: Institutionalizing Peaceful Transitions Stephan Hamberg, UW Political Science Ph.D student |
Feb 3 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Power & Authority in International Relations: Evidence from a Non-Western Case David Kang (Professor of International Relations & Business, University of Southern California) |
Jan 13 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Explaining the Transnational Advocacy Agenda: Insights from Human Security Practitioners Charli Carpenter, Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts at Amherst |
Nov 18 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Reframing Energy Security: How Oil Dependence Influences U.S. National Security Charles Glaser, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University |
Oct 28 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
The Rhetoric of Power Politics: Hitler’s Legitimation Strategies, British Policies, & World War II Stacie Goddard, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College |
May 20 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Types of Security Threats and National Strategies: An Exploratory Case of China under Mao David Bachman, Professor, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington |
May 13 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Climate Wars? Security Implications of Climate Change Halvard Buhaug, Senior Researcher at the Center for the Study of Civil War, Peace Research Institute Oslo |
Apr 29 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Dynamic Deterrence in Civil War: Evidence from (Simulated) Airstrikes in Afghanistan Jason Lyall, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale |
Apr 15 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Don't Stop Thinking about Yesterday: An Experiment with Conflict Narratives in the Caucasus (or “Let ‘baijans be ‘baijans”) Scott Radnitz, Assistant Professor of International Studies,Jackson School, University of Washington |
Mar 4 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
The Puzzle of Rwanda's Genocide Alan Kuperman, Associate Professor of Government, University of Texas, Austin |
Feb 11 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Title | Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Peacekeeping and the Security Dilemma Andrew Cockrell, Political Science PhD Student, University of Washington |
Dec 3 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
Assessing Intentions in International Politics Keren Yarhi-Milo, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Princeton |
Nov 12 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
War and the Religious Calendar Ron Hassner, Assistant Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley |
Oct 15 | 12:00pm to 1:20pm | Gowen 1A |
The Social Construction of Strategy Nicolas Jabko, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for International Studies and Research, Sciences Po |
Apr 30 | 12:00pm | |
Nuclear Power without Nuclear Proliferation? Scott Sagan, Co‐director, Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Professor, Department of Political Science, Stanford University |
Apr 16 | 12:00pm | |
Democratic Transitions and Violence Stephan Hamberg, Ph.D. Student, University of Washington |
Mar 5 | 12:00pm | |
UWISC Talk David Welch, CIGI Chair of Global Security, Balsillie School of International Affairs, and Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo |
Feb 5 | 12:00pm | |
Authoritarian Regimes, Domestic Politics, and Conflict Outcomes Jessica Weeks, Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University |
Jan 22 | 12:00pm |