Professor

Curriculum Vitae

Professional Website

Personal Website

Idean Salehyan is Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia, where his research and teaching focuses on civil and international conflict, migration and refugee policy, protest movements, and environmental security. He also serves as Executive Director of the Peace Science Society (International), the leading academic association for the quantitative analysis of peace and conflict. He is the author of the award-winning book, Rebels Without Borders: Transnational Insurgencies in World Politics (Cornell University Press) and has published in leading journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, World Politics, and Journal of Conflict Resolution.

Dr. Salehyan is Senior Fellow for Immigration Policy at the Niskanen Center in Washington, DC, and regularly provides public commentary on immigration and refugee policy, among other topics. He serves on the Advisory Board of Bridging the Gap, which seeks to forge closer ties between academia and the policy community.

Prior to joining UGA, Dr. Salehyan was a faculty member at the University of North Texas and held visiting appointments at ETH-Zurich, Columbia University, the University of Essex, and the Peace Research Institute, Oslo.

Education +

• Ph.D., Political Science, University of California, San Diego (2006)
• B.A., Political Science, University of California, San Diego (2000)

Areas of Expertise +

• International and civil conflict
• Transnational security threats and insurgency
• International migration and forced displacement
• Politics and the environment (climate-conflict linkages)
• Ethnic politics and political violence
• Protest movements and state repression

Honors, Awards, and Achievements +

• J. David Singer Data Innovation Award (2017), Conflict Processes Section, American Political Science Association — Social Conflict Analysis Dataset
• International Association for Conflict Management, Outstanding Article Award (2011)
• ENMISA Distinguished Book Award (2010), International Studies Association — for Rebels Without Borders
• British Academy Fellowship, University of Essex (2007)

Affiliations +

• Peace Science Society (International)
• American Political Science Association
• International Studies Association

Selected Publications +

• Salehyan, I. (2025). “Strategic Humanitarianism and US Refugee Admissions After the Cold War.” International Studies Quarterly.
• Salehyan, I., & Savun, B. (2024). “Strategic Humanitarianism: Host States and Refugee Policy.” Annual Review of Political Science.
• Salehyan, I., & Feinberg, A. (2023). “Student Protest, Violent Interactions, and State Repression.” Journal of Peace Research.
• Salehyan, I., & Cottier, F. (2021). “Climate Variability and Irregular Migration to the European Union.” Global Environmental Change.

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