Professor of International AffairsJosiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor

Curriculum Vitae

Professional Website

Andrew P. Owsiak is a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and a Professor in the Department of International Affairs. He studies three broad themes in his research: why countries fight one another, the bilateral processes or 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. His research touches broadly on such topics as: the causes of war (or military conflict); protracted, hostile relationships (i.e., rivalries); alliances; international law; international institutions/organizations; democratization; crisis diplomacy; mediation; arbitration and adjudication; and peacekeeping.

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

Dr. Owsiak studies three broad themes in his research: why countries fight one another, the bilateral processes or 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 two recent books that address the above questions: 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 Department of Defense’s Minerva Project 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, and peace studies — including within the university’s First-Year Odyssey program. 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/international conflict
  • Territorial disputes/conflicts
  • Interstate/international borders
  • Interstate/international rivalries, or protracted conflicts
  • International law (including arbitration/adjudication)
  • Democratization
  • Alliances
  • International conflict management/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 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 Review, Lead Book Editor, 2018-2022
  • International Studies Quarterly, Editorial Board Member, 2019-present

 

Organizations

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

Professor Owsiak studies three broad themes in his research: why countries fight one another, the bilateral processes or 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:

Peer-Reviewed Journals:

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.