Professor of International AffairsJosiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching ProfessorUndergraduate Program Coordinator, International Affairs

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Andrew P. Owsiak is a Professor in the Department of International Affairs and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor. His research examines three broad themes: why countries fight one another militarily, the processes and characteristics that promote peaceful relations between disputing countries, and the role of third-parties in peacefully (or diplomatically) ending conflicts and/or building more peaceful relations between countries. These themes touch on a broad set of topics, including the causes of war and peace (both international and civil wars), hostile international relationships (or rivalries), alliance politics, international law, international institutions, international organizations, democratization, crisis diplomacy, and conflict management tools (e.g.,  mediation, arbitration, adjudication, and peacekeeping). Dr. Owsiak has received support for various research projects from the United States Department of Defense, the United States Institute of Peace, and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies (Notre Dame), which awarded him a Visiting Faculty Research Fellowship in 2020-2021.

Education
  • Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Political Science, 2011
  • MA, University of Denver, Conflict Resolution, 2005
  • BA, Xavier University, Economics and Spanish, 2002
More About

Dr. Owsiak studies three broad themes in his research: why countries fight one another militarily, the processes and characteristics that promote peaceful relations between disputing countries, and the role of third-parties in peacefully (or diplomatically) ending conflicts and/or building more peaceful relations between countries.

Dr. Owsiak has three recent books that address the above questions: International Conflict and Conflict Management (with J. Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl, 2023), On Dangerous Ground: A Theory of Bargaining, Border Settlement, and Rivalry (with Toby J. Rider, 2021) and International Conflict Management (with J. Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl, 2019). Other works in his research program appear in the Journal of Politics, the American Journal of International Law, the British Journal of Political Science, Political Science Research and Methods, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the Journal of Peace Research, Conflict Management and Peace Science, International Interactions, and Foreign Policy Analysis, among other outlets. Many of these works, some ongoing, received financial support from the US Department of Defense and the United States Institute of Peace. As a result of his strong research record, Dr. Owsiak won the School of Public and International Affairs’ Excellence in Research Award (2017) and received a Faculty Research Fellowship at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame (2020-2021).

Dr. Owsiak teaches courses in international relations (including theory), international conflict, crisis diplomacy, international conflict management, peace studies, and research methods. Outside the classroom, he mentors numerous undergraduate students through the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO). The university has repeatedly recognized his strong commitment to teaching. He has been named a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor (2020), inducted into the University of Georgia Teaching Academy (2017), and received the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2015), the School of Public and International Affairs’ Excellence in Teaching Award (2018), the University of Georgia’s CURO Mentoring Award (2014), the First-Year Odyssey Seminar Program Teaching Award (2017), and recognition as an outstanding faculty mentor for the Student Veterans Resource Center (2018).

Areas of Expertise
  • Interstate conflict/international conflict
  • Territorial disputes
  • International borders
  • International rivalries / protracted conflicts
  • International law
  • International organization
  • Democratization
  • Alliances
  • International conflict management / conflict resolution
  • International negotiation / bargaining
  • Mediation
  • Peacekeeping
Honors, Awards, and Achievements

Grants

  • Faculty Research Fellow, University of Notre Dame, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, 2020-2021.
  • University System of Georgia Affordable Learning Grant, 2019-2020. Project: “US Cyber Deterrence, Stuxnet, and the 2016 Presidential Election” (Reacting to the Past / role-playing simulation game authorship; with Jeff Berejikian).
  • United States Institute of Peace, 2019-2020. Project: “The Management of Internationalized Civil Wars” (with Paul F. Diehl and Gary Goertz).
  • Minerva Initiative Grant, US Department of Defense, 2016-2021. Project: “Identity Claims: Expanding the Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) Dataset” (with Paul Hensel, Sara Mitchell, and Krista Wiegand).

Honors

  • Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, 2020-present.
  • School of Public and International Affairs Excellence in Teaching Award, 2018.
  • Student Veterans’ Resource Center Distinguished Faculty Fellow, 2018.
  • Teaching Academy Member, 2017 (inducted by invitation).
  • First-Year Odyssey Seminar Program Teaching Award, 2017.
  • School of Public and International Affairs Excellence in Research Award, 2017.
  • Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2015.
  • Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) Mentoring Award, 2014.
  • Teaching Academy Fellow, University of Georgia, 2013-2014.
Affiliations

Editorial

  • International Studies Quarterly, Editorial Board Member, 2019-present
  • International Studies Review, Lead Book Editor, 2018-2022

Organizations

Course Instruction
  • INTL 3200 Introduction to International Relations
  • INTL 4207 Advanced Political Simulations
  • INTL 4220 International Conflict
  • INTL 4255 Nuclear Politics
  • INTL 4285 Crisis Diplomacy
  • INTL 4680 Peace Studies
  • INTL 4710 Model United Nations Practicum
  • INTL 6010 Research Methods in International Policy
  • INTL 6200 Pre-seminar in International Relations (Theory)
  • INTL 8225 International Conflict Management
  • INTL 8230 International Conflict
  • FYOS 1001 Revolution and War
Research Interests

Dr. Owsiak studies three broad themes in his research: why countries fight one another militarily, the processes and characteristics that promote peaceful relations between disputing countries, and the role of third-parties in peacefully (or diplomatically) ending conflicts and/or building more peaceful relations between countries.

Selected Publications

For a full list of publications, working papers, and conference participation, as well as a curriculum vitae, see www.andrewowsiak.org.

Books:

International Conflict and Conflict Management (edited with J. Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl). 2023. New York: Routledge.

On Dangerous Ground: A Theory of Bargaining, Border Settlement, and Rivalry (with Toby J. Rider). 2021. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

International Conflict Management (with J. Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl). 2019. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Peer-Reviewed Journals:

Tracking the Evolution of Conflict: Barometers for Interstate and Civil Conflict” (with Gary Goertz, Paul F. Diehl, and Luis Schenoni). 2023. Discussion Paper 23-004. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

Getting to the Root of the Issue(s): Expanding the Study of Issues in MIDs (the MID-Issue Dataset, version 1.0)” (with Joshua Jackson, Gary Goertz, and Paul F. Diehl). 2022. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(7-8): 1514-1542.

Judicialization of the Sea: Bargaining in the Shadow of UNCLOS” (with Sara McLaughlin Mitchell). 2021. American Journal of International Law 115 (4): 579-621.

Settling Resistant Territorial Disputes: The Territorial Boundary Peace in Latin America” (with Luis Schenoni, Gary Goertz, and Paul F. Diehl). 2020. International Studies Quarterly 64 (1): 57-70.

Conflict Management in Land, River, and Maritime Claims” (with Sara McLaughlin Mitchell). 2019. Political Science Research & Methods 7 (1): 43-61.

Democracy and the Settlement of International Borders, 1919-2000” (with Douglas M. Gibler). 2018. Journal of Conflict Resolution 62 (9): 1847-1875.

The International Border Agreements Dataset” (with Allison K. Cuttner and Brent Buck). 2018. Conflict Management and Peace Science 35 (5): 559-576.

The Diffusion of International Border Agreements” (with K. Chad Clay). 2016. Journal of Politics 78 (2): 427-442.

Democratization and International Border Agreements.” 2013. Journal of Politics 75 (3): 717-729.

Signing Up for Peace: International Boundary Agreements, Democracy, and Militarized Interstate Conflict.” 2012. International Studies Quarterly 56 (1): 51-66.

Book Chapters:

“War and the Orient Express” (with Doug Atkinson). 2021. In What Do We Know about War?, 3rd edn., edited by John A. Vasquez and Sara Mitchell. Rowman and Littlefield.

“The Peace Puzzle: Understanding Transitions to Peace” (with Paul F. Diehl and Gary Goertz). 2021. In What Do We Know about War?, 3rd edn., edited by John A. Vasquez and Sara Mitchell. Rowman and Littlefield.

“Cyber Deterrence and Escalation.” 2020. The Cyber Deterrence Problem, edited by Aaron F. Brantly. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 39-70.