Jonathan Pinckney

Jonathan Pinckney

Assistant Professor

University of Texas at Dallas

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Before coming to UT Dallas, I was the Director of Applied Research for The Horizons Project, where I led research on countering democratic backsliding. I have also worked as the senior researcher at the US Institute of Peace, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, an external associate at the Peace Research Institution of Oslo (PRIO), and a research fellow at the Sie Cheou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy, where I supervised data collection for the Social Conflict Analysis Database (SCAD) and the Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns and Outcomes (NAVCO) 3.0 data projects.

My research on civil resistance, democratization, and peacebuilding has been widely published by major university presses and leading journals including Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Conflict Management and Peace Science. My first book From Dissent to Democracy: The Promise and Peril of Civil Resistance Transitions, was published in 2020 by Oxford University Press.

I received my PhD in International Relations from the University of Denver in 2018. I was a 2012 recipient of the Korbel School’s Sie Fellowship and a 2016 recipient of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict’s PhD fellowship. I currently live in Plano, Texas. In my free time, I enjoy running, mountain climbing, and watching great films.

Interests
  • Nonviolent/Civil Resistance
  • Democratization
  • Peacebuilding
Education
  • PhD | University of Denver, 2018

    Josef Korbel School of International Studies

  • MA | University of Denver, 2014

    Josef Korbel School of International Studies

  • BA | Gordon College, 2008

Recent Publications

(2023). Overcoming the Challenges of Transitional Mobilization. USIP Peaceworks.

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(2023). Moral Logics of Support for Nonviolent Resistance: Evidence From a Cross-National Survey Experiment. Comparative Political Studies.

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(2022). External Support for Nonviolent Action: An Evidence Review. USIP Evidence Review.

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(2022). When the Levee Breaks: An Ensemble Forecasting Model of Violent and Nonviolent Dissent. International Interactions.

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Teaching

As a political science educator, my goals in the classroom are to foster an inclusive and engaging learning environment, help students develop the tools to see the political world through a critical lens, and prepare students both for potential careers in public service or academia and for a generally increased critical and informed approach to civic engagement.

The course pages below provide brief summaries of courses I have taught or am currently teaching, as well as links to relevant resources.

Approaches to Peace

Approaches to Peace

An Introductory Course in Peace and Conflict Studies

Nonviolent Resistance

Nonviolent Resistance

An upper-level undergraduate deep dive into the theory and practice of nonviolent resistance

Introduction to International Relations

Introduction to International Relations

An introductory course on international relations.

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