Laia Balcells
Professor
Contact
Welcome to my webpage. I am a Professor of Government at Georgetown University, where I am also core faculty of the M.A. in Conflict Resolution, and a faculty affiliate of Gui2de, the BMW Center for German and European Studies, and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS).
My research and teaching are at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations. I focus on civil wars, terrorism, nationalism, ethnic conflict, and transitional justice after armed conflict. You can check my Google Scholar Profile here.
I obtained my Ph.D. from Yale University in 2010. I have been an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Duke University (2012-2017), a Niehaus Visiting Associate Research Scholar at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University (2015-16), and Chair of Excellence at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2017).
My first book, Rivalry and Revenge: the Politics of Violence during Civil War, was published in 2017 by Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics). The book, which can be purchased at Cambridge University Press or Bookshop (among other sites), was a runner-up for the Conflict Research Society Book of the Year Award (2018). The Catalan press ICIP/Edicions Bellaterra published the Spanish translation of the book in their series Colección Paz y Seguridad.
My research has also been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the American Political Science Review, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Journal of Politics, Annual Review of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, Politics & Society, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Nations and Nationalism, and Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, among other outlets.
I received (with Stathis Kalyvas) the Luebbert Award for the Best Article in Comparative Politics from the American Political Science Association, APSA (2011). I received (with Abel Escribà and Lesley-Ann Daniels) an Honorable Mention in the Best Paper Award of the APSA Conflict Processes Section (2016), and (with Elsa Voytas and Valeria Palanza) an Honorable Mention in the Outstanding Paper Award of the APSA Democracy & Autocracy Section (2023). From the International Studies Association (ISA), I received the Outstanding Paper award from the Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration section in 2018 (with Gerard Torrats-Espinosa) and in 2020 (with Spencer Dorsey and Juan Tellez).
I received (with Stathis Kalyvas) the Luebbert Award for the Best Article in Comparative Politics from the American Political Science Association, APSA (2011). I received (with Abel Escribà and Lesley-Ann Daniels) an Honorable Mention in the Best Paper Award of the APSA Conflict Processes Section (2016), and (with Elsa Voytas and Valeria Palanza) an Honorable Mention in the Outstanding Paper Award of the APSA Democracy & Autocracy Section (2023). From the International Studies Association (ISA), I received the Outstanding Paper award from the Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration section in 2018 (with Gerard Torrats-Espinosa) and in 2020 (with Spencer Dorsey and Juan Tellez).
As Principal Investigator (PI), I have received grants from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Folke Bernadotte Academy, the World Bank, UNU-WIDER, and the Catalan Institute of Peace (ICIP). I have also received collaborative grants from the ESRC (United Kingdom), the Spanish Ministry of Science, and the Research Council of Norway, among others. I am affiliated with HiCN, and a member of the International Academic Council of the Institut Barcelona Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).
I am chairing the Carolina de Miguel Moyer Young Scholar Award committee. The Council of European Studies (CES) instituted the award in 2021 to honor Dr. Carolina de Miguel Moyer, a beloved friend who left us too early in the summer of 2020.
I currently serve as Associate Editor of the American Political Science Review.
I currently serve as Associate Editor of the American Political Science Review.