Scholars Discuss Political Violence at Conference

Khusrav Gaibulloev PhD’08 speaks to attendees.

Leading international scholars on terrorism presented their latest research at the recent eighth biannual Political Violence and Policy Conference at UT Dallas.

Topics included the perception of risk associated with hosting refugees, election violence and the consequences of terrorism. The event was sponsored by UTD’s Center for Global Collective Action. Many of the presenters’ papers will be published in an upcoming edition of the journal Public Choice.

Dr. Todd Sandler, Vibhooti Shukla Professor of Economics and Political Economy in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS), who organized the conference, said the event attracts the best scholars working on topics involving terrorism and political violence.

“This conference puts a spotlight on the importance of research at EPPS and UTD. Participants see that we have many fine scholars in economics, political science and related disciplines who are working to address political violence,” Sandler said.

The conference attracted top scholars from the UK, Israel, Spain, Japan, UAE, Mexico, Greece, and elsewhere. Among the researchers were two alumni: Khusrav Gaibulloev PhD’08, associate professor at American University at Sharjah UAE, and Justin George PhD’16, post-doctoral fellow at Michigan State University.

Gaibulloev, who conducted research with Sandler, discussed their findings showing that nations that have a political affinity with the United States are at increased risk of a terrorist attack. George discussed his research on the impact of terrorism and food security.