Peter Krause
Associate Professor of Political Science, Boston College
Research Affiliate, MIT Security Studies Program
I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College and a Research Affiliate with the MIT Security Studies Program. I have published books on navigating field research, coercion in international politics, and the strategy and success of nationalist rebels in civil war. I am writing two new books: one on how to have a constructive conversation about Israel and Palestine, and the other on which rebel groups take power after regime change. My research and teaching focus on Middle East politics and Israeli-Palestinian relations, political violence, nationalism, rebels and civil war, and peace-building. I give talks and facilitate discussions with universities, think tanks, and business and community groups, and I conduct media interviews. I have a Ph.D. in political science from MIT and a B.A. in political science and history from Williams College.
My new article with Sarah Zuckerman Daly was just published in Conflict, Security, and Development. When conducting research and fieldwork on civil war, it is not only challenging to remain impartial or get physically and emotionally close to conflict participants, but it is especially difficult to do both, given that more of one often requires - or leads to - less of the other. We present the theoretical and practical tensions between impartiality and proximity and introduce three ideal-type approaches that scholars utilize in response: avoiding proximity, shunning impartiality, or eschewing both. Each of these approaches to mitigate the tension between impartiality and proximity possesses different - and often complementary - strengths and weaknesses. Despite the challenges it brings, we use our own experiences studying civil wars in Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa to demonstrate the plausibility and benefits of a fourth approach - proximate impartiality - which navigates this tension head on, We then spell out how proximate, impartial research can be successfully executed across different phases of the research process. We conclude by offering a blueprint for a methodologically pluralistic community to generate a more comprehensive understanding of political outcomes than any homogenizing approach could yield.
"HOW TO HAVE A CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATION ON ISRAEL AND PALESTINE"
I have led lectures and discussions with numerous universities and community groups in the past year on my new book project, which focuses on how we can have constructive conversations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict despite the many real challenges and the high stakes for all involved. These sessions build on my experience teaching classes, facilitating dialogue sessions with Israelis and Palestinians, and living and researching in the region for many years. If you are interested in having me deliver a lecture, discussion, or facilitated event or event series in your community, please contact me.