PROFILE
 

PhD University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Ravi Bhavnani is Professor and Head of the Political Science & International Relations Department at the Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID). Bhavnani's research explores the micro-foundations of violence using data-driven modelling. More specifically, his work examines the endogenous relationships among: (i) the characteristics, beliefs, and interests of relevant actors; (ii) social mechanisms and emergent social structures that shape attitudes, decision-making and behaviour; and (iii) patterns of violence. His articles appear in the American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Politics, Complexity, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Politics, Nature Humanities and Social Science Communications, Political Research Quarterly and Political Psychology among others. His recent research explores the drivers of acute child malnutrition in conflict settings, as well as use of AI-enhanced techniques to measure, report and predict undernutrition in these hard to access areas.

THEMATIC EXPERTISE
 

• Armed conflicts, violence
• Terrorism & crime
• Urban & rural worlds
  
   

GEOGRAPHICAL EXPERTISE
 

• Burundi
• Kenya
• Rwanda
• Uganda
• Mali
• Nigeria
• United States of America
• India

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
 

• 2025. “How Loyalty Trials Shape Allegiance to Political Order.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 69:1 (January):178-206 (with M. Reul).
• 2024. “How Does the Geography of Surveillance Affect Collective Action?” Political Psychology 45:2 (April): 319-340 (with S. Penic, K. Donnay, G. Elcheroth and M. Albzour).
• 2024. “The Geography of Military Occupation and its Effect on Palestinian Community Cohesion, Norms, and Resistance Motivation.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 30:1 (February): 94-106 (with S. Penic, G. Elcheroth, M. Albzour, and K. Donnay).
• 2023. “Drivers of COVID-19 Protests Across Localities in Israel: A Machine Learning Approach.” Political Research Exchange 5:1 (September) (with N. Schlager, K. Donnay, and H. Kim).
• 2023. “Aerial Occupation and Aerial Forensics in Gaza.” Global Challenges: Urban Morphology and Violence Issue no. 2 (March) (with J. Hellinger).
• 2023. “Centering the Urban in Our Understanding of Violence.” Global Challenges: Urban Morphology and Violence Issue no. 2 (March) (with X. Osorio Garate).
• 2023. “Trajectories of Resilience to Acute Malnutrition in the Kenyan Drylands.” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7 (June) (with N. Schlager, K. Donnay and M. Reul).
• 2023. “Household Behavior and Vulnerability to Acute Malnutrition in Kenya.” Nature, Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 10:63 (February) (with N. Schlager, K. Donnay, M. Reul, L. Schenker, M. Stauffer and T. Patel).
• 2023. “Segregation and ‘Out-of-Placeness’: The Direct Effect of Neighborhood Racial Composition on Police Stops.” Political Research Quarterly Online First (April): doi/full/10.1177/10659129231171516 (with L. Schenker, D. Sylvan, and J. Arcand).
• 2020. “Notes and Advice for Evidence-Driven Computational Modeling Projects.” In R. Franzese and L. Curini (eds.) Sage Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science & International Relations. Sage (with K. Donnay and M. Reul).
• 2019. “The Morphology of Urban Conflict.” Global Challenges: New Grammars of War: Conflict and Violence in the 21st Century Issue no. 5 (April) (with M. Reul).
• 2019. “The Morphology of Urban Conflict.” GLOBE: Graduate Institute Review 23 (Spring): 22-23 (with M. Reul).
• 2017. "Simulation and ABM in Foreign Policy." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford University Press (with D. Sylvan).
• 2017. Peace and Conflict. Routledge (with D. Backer and P. Huth (eds.))
• 2016. Peace and Conflict. Routledge (with D. Backer and P. Huth (eds.))
• 2016. “Voting Intentions in Africa: Ethnic, Economic or Partisan?” in N. Cheeseman (ed.) African Politics. Routledge.(with M. Bratton and T.Chen)
• 2014. “Group Segregation and Urban Violence.” American Journal of Political Science 58:1 (January): 226-245 (with K. Donnay, D. Miodownik, M. Mor and D. Helbing)
• 2012. “Modeling Civil Violence in Afghanistan: Ethnic Geography, Control, and Collaboration.”  Complexity 17:6 (July/August): 42-51 (with H. Choi)
• 2012.  “Here’s Looking at You: Israeli Reactions to the Arab Spring.”  Swiss Political Science Review 18:1 (March): 124-131 (with K. Donnay).
• 2012. "Voting Intentions in Africa.” Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 50:1 (February): 27-52 (with M. Bratton and T. Chen).
• 2011. “Minority Rule and Civil War Onset: Accounting for Ethnic Salience, Fiscal Policy, and Natural Resource Profiles.” Conflict Management and Peace Science 28:5 (November): 423 – 443 (with D. Miodownik).
• 2011. “Violence and Control in Civil Conflict: Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.” Comparative Politics 44:1 (October):61-80 (with D. Miodownik and H. Choi).
• 2011. “Transnational-Ethnic Ties and the Incidence of Minority Rule in Rwanda and Burundi.” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 17: 231–256 (with J. Lavery).
• 2011. “Three Two Tango: Control and Violence in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 55:1 (February): 133-158 (with D. Miodownik and H. Choi).
• 2009. “Rumor Dynamics in Ethnic Violence.” Journal of Politics 71:3 (July): 876-892 (with M. Findley and J. Kuklinski).
• 2009. “Ethnic Polarization, Ethnic Salience, and Civil War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 53:1 (February): 30-49 (with D. Miodownik).
• 2009. “Scarcity, Abundance, and Conflict: A Complex New World.” Whitehead Journal of International Diplomacy 10: 2 (Summer/Fall): 19-34.
• 2008. “Simulating Closed Regimes with Agent-Based Models.” Complexity 14:1 (September/October): 36-44 (with R. Riolo and D. Backer).
• 2008. “REsCape: An Agent-Based Framework for Modeling Resources, Ethnicity, and Conflict.” Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation 11:2 (March) (with D. Miodownik, and J. Nart).
• 2006. “Ethnic Norms and Interethnic Violence: Accounting for Mass Participation in the Rwandan Genocide.” Journal of Peace Research 43:6 (November): 651-669.
• 2005. “Diamonds, Blood, and Taxes: A Revenue-Centered Framework for Explaining Political Order.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 49:4 (August): 563-597 (with R. Snyder).
• 2003. “Announcement, Credibility, and Turnout in Popular Rebellions.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 47:3 (June): 340-366 (with M. Ross).
• 2000. “Localized Ethnic Conflict and Genocide: Accounting for Differences in Rwanda and Burundi.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 44:3 (June): 283-307 (with D. Backer).

ACTIVITIES

• Member, American Political Science Association
• Member, International Studies Association
• Member, European Political Science Association

OFFICE HOURS
 

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