About me

I study international relations, conflict and security, great power politics, and quantitative political methodology. My research looks at the ways the microdynamics of civil war are connected to the international system of which they are a part.

My dissertation examines illegal militant organizations and legal activist organizations that co-exist within dissident movements. It investigates how activist actions influence the support for militancy and how state actions factor into the determinants of movement support. Another set of my projects analyze how international actors and institutions can influence the likelihood and microdynamics of civil war. I use experimental, quasi-experimental and observational designs as well as text-as-data methods in my projects. My research interests include armed group behavior, militancy recruitment, and international influences on civil conflict processes.

I am a College Fellow at Harvard University Government Department. I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis. You can contact me at isener@wustl.edu.