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Department of Political Science

Brenton Kenkel

Associate Professor

Brenton Kenkel received his PhD in political science from the University of Rochester in 2014. His research focuses on the political economy of conflict, encompassing violent conflict both between and within states. In his research, he uses formal models to think clearly about the strategic dilemmas that arise in war, diplomacy, and state formation. He teaches classes on the causes of war, the role of war in state development, crisis diplomacy, formal models of international politics, and statistical methods.

Representative publications

  • Brenton Kenkel and Peter Schram. 2023. "Uncertainty in Crisis Bargaining with Multiple Policy Options." Forthcoming in American Journal of Political Science.
  • Brenton Kenkel and Kristopher W. Ramsay. 2023. "The Effective Power of Military Coalitions: A Unified Theoretical and Empirical Model." Conditionally accepted at Journal of Politics.
  • Brenton Kenkel and Jack Paine. 2023. "A Theory of External Wars and European Parliaments." International Organization 77(1): 102–143.
  • Brenton Kenkel. 2023. "Social Conflict and the Predatory State." Quarterly Journal of Political Science 18(4): 437–468.
  • Michael Gibilisco, Brenton Kenkel, and Miguel R. Rueda. 2022. "Competition and Civilian Victimization." Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(4-5): 809–835.
  • Mark Fey and Brenton Kenkel. 2021. "Is an Ultimatum the Last Word on Crisis Bargaining?" Journal of Politics 83(1): 87–102.
  • View Curriculum Vitae