Philip Martin

Aquia Building 307, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Email: pmarti5@gmu.edu, View Philip Martin's website
Last updated: February 2026

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

2020
Assistant Professor
Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

2019
Term Assistant Professor
Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

2018
Pre-Doctoral Fellow
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Political Science, 2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dissertation: “Insurgent Armies: Explaining Military Loyalty after Rebel Victory”

M.A., International Affairs, 2012
Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University

B.A., Political Science, 2010 University of Guelph

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Strong Commanders, Weak States: How Rebel Governance Shapes Military Integration after Civil War.

Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, Cornell University Press, 2025.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

“When does Civil Society Really Prevent Violence? Local Civic Networks and Communal Conflict During the 2020-2021 Ivorian Elections.” Forthcoming in World Politics.

“Ex-Rebel Leaders and Strategies of Regime Survival in Côte d’Ivoire.” With Jeremy Speight and Giulia Piccolino. Security Studies, Vol. 34, No. 3 (2025), pp. 428-458.

“Living in Fear? Political Violence and Authoritarian Attitudes Among Politicians in South Africa.” With Sarah Lockwood. Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol 70, No. 2-3 (2025), 387-413.

“How Wartime Recruitment Affects Political Engagement Among Civilians: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire.” World Development, Vol. 187 (2025), 106836.

“Insurgent Armies: Military Obedience and State Formation after Rebel Victory.” International Security, Vol. 46, No. 3 (2022), pp. 87-127.

“The Political Legacies of Rebel Rule: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Côte d’Ivoire.” With Jeremy Speight and Giulia Piccolino. Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 55, No. 9 (2022), pp. 1439-1470.

“Ethnicity and Violence in Weak States: Understanding the Mechanisms.” With Andrew Cesare Miller. Comparative Politics, Vol. 54, No. 3 (April 2022), pp. 573-590.

“Commander-Community Ties after Civil War.” Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 58, No. 4 (2021), pp. 778-793.

• Honorable mention, Nils Petter Gleditsch JPR Article of the Year Award

“When do Strong Parties Throw the Bums Out? Evidence from South African Local Government Elections.” With Evan Lieberman and Nina McMurry. Studies in Comparative International Development, Vol. 56 (2021), pp. 316-342.

“Ex-Rebel Authority after Civil War: Theory and Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire.” With Jeremy Speight and Giulia Piccolino. Comparative Politics, Vol. 53, No. 2 (2021), pp. 209-232.

“Security Sector Reform and Civil-Military Relations in Postwar Côte d’Ivoire.” African Affairs, Vol. 117, No. 468 (2018), pp. 522-33.

“Mining Codes in Africa: Emergence of a Fourth Generation?” With Hany Besada. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 2 (2015), pp. 263-282.

“Regulating Extraction in Africa: Towards a Framework for Accountability in the Global South.” With Hany Besada and Franklin Lisk. Governance in Africa, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2015), pp. 1-12.

“Coming Together: Power-Sharing and the Durability of Negotiated Peace Settlements.” Civil Wars, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Fall 2013), pp. 332-58.

Work in Progress

“Can Multi-Dimensional Descriptive Representation Increase Policy Priority Alignment? Evidence from South Africa.” With Evan Lieberman, Sarah Lockwood and Vinothan Naidoo. Revise and resubmit.

“Politician-Directed Violence and Democratic Erosion.” With Sarah Lockwood. Work in progress.

“Bridging the “Army-Nation” Divide to Build Resilient Communities: the Cellules Civilo-Militaires in Côte d’Ivoire.” With Jeremy Speight, Giulia Piccolino, and Abel Gbala. Work in progress.

Anticolonial Rebellions and Nation-Building in Africa. Book project.

Book Reviews

Review of Sharing Power, Securing Peace? Ethnic Inclusion and Civil War by Lars-Erik Cederman, Simon Hug and Julian Wucherpfennig, Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (2023), pp. 1496-1498.

Other Publications

“Can the Taliban Stabilize Afghanistan?” Political Violence at a Glance, August 25, 2021.

“Why It Matters if Trump Rejects the Election Result.” Political Violence at a Glance, November 11, 2020.

“South Africa's Healthy Democracy: Why Zuma's Resignation is a Good Sign,” With Dan De Kadt and Evan Lieberman). Foreign Affairs, February 20, 2018.

“Le conséquence d'une gouvernance rebelle: enquête au nord de la Côte d'Ivoire.” With Giulia Piccolino and Jeremy Speight. Bulletin FrancoPaix, Vol. 3, No. 1 (January 2018), pp. 1-7.

“Politicians’ Perspectives on Voice and Accountability: Evidence from a Survey of South African Local Councillors.” With Evan Lieberman and Nina McMurry. Research Report, Making All Voices Count, December 2017.

“Why Zimbabwe’s Military Abandoned Mugabe.” Foreign Affairs, November 15, 2017.

“Rebel Networks' Deep Roots Cause Concerns for Côte d'Ivoire Transition." With Giulia Piccolino and Jeremy Speight. The Global Observatory, International Peace Institute, October 12, 2017

“Why Zimbabwe’s Military Sticks with Mugabe.” Foreign Affairs, September 12, 2016.

“Here are Four Reasons that South Africa’s ANC Lost Ground in this Month’s Elections.” With Dan De Kadt, Evan Lieberman, and Nina McMurry. The Monkey Cage, August 12, 2016.

“Regulating Extraction in the Global South: Towards a Framework for Accountability.” With Hany Besada and Franklin Lisk. Research Report for the United Nations High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 2013, pp. 1-34.

“Mining Codes in Africa: Opportunities, Challenges and Canada’s Position.” With Hany Besada. In Canada-Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead (McGill-Queen’s Press, 2013).

“Intervening for Peace? Dilemmas of Liberal Internationalism and Democratic Reconstruction in Afghanistan.” Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Spring 2011), pp. 1-24.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Fellowships & Grants

2021
Distinguished Scholar Award, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation ($35K)

2019
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, University of Toronto(declined)

2018
Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

2018
Research Grant, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Political Inclusion and Accountability Program, Côted’Ivoire ($30K)

2017
MIT GOV/LAB Dissertation Seed Grant ($4.5K)

2017
Summer Research Grant, Center for International Studies, MIT ($3.5K)

2016
Summer Research Grant, Center for International Studies, MIT ($3.5K)

2016
Summer Fellowship, Bridging the Gap Project ($3K)

2013—2017
Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($80K)

2013
Fulbright Scholarship, Fulbright Canada Foundation ($15K)

2011
Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Government of Ontario ($15K)

2010
Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Master’s Level, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($17.5K)

2007—2009
Dean’s Scholarship, University of Guelph ($1K)

Other Academic Honors

2015
Finalist, Trudeau Scholarship. Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation

2012
Senate Medal, Carleton University

2012
Graduate Student Open Access Award, Carleton University Office of Vice-President (Research) and Graduate Student Association

2011
First Prize, Best Paper Award Competition, 7th Annual Conference for Graduate Students in Political Science, International Relations and Public Policy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

2011
Third Prize, Conference of Defense Association’s 14 Annual Graduate Student Symposium, the Royal Military College, Kingston, Canada

2010
Joseph F. Skinner Medal, University of Guelph (highest overall achievement among graduating students in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences)

2010
University of Guelph Honor Award for outstanding student-athlete performance

2010
Nominee, Winegard Medal, University of Guelph (highest overall achievement among graduating students)

2007
George Grant Award, University of Guelph (highest academic average among undergraduate political science majors)

2006—2009
OUA Academic All-Star Award for academic excellence as a varsity athlete, University of Guelph

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

George Mason University
Introduction to Comparative Politics
African Politics
Political Violence and Civil Wars
Field Seminar in Comparative Politics
Scientific Method and Research Design
Civil War and Stabilization in Africa

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Democracy and Development: Perspectives from Contemporary Africa (MITx)
Engineering Democratic Development in Africa
Math Camp I
Quantitative Research Methods I: Regression

Carleton University
History of Political Thought
Introduction to African Politics
Law, State and Citizens
Law, State, and Constitutions

PRESENTATIONS (Selected)

American Political Science Association, Annual Conference, Vancouver, September 2025 American Political Science Association, Annual Conference, Philadelphia, September 2024
Embassy of Canada to Côte d’Ivoire, June 2024
British International Studies Association, Annual Conference, Birmingham UK, June 2024
Security Studies Seminar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 2023. African Studies Association, Annual Convention, Philadelphia PA, November 2022
Security Policy Workshop, Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, Elliot School of International Affairs, George Washington University, October 2022
American Political Science Association, Annual Conference, Montreal, September 2022
Brown Bag Series, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, September 2022
Center for Security, Intelligence, and Defense Studies, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, January 2021
International Studies Association, Annual Convention, Virtual, April 2021 African Studies Association, Annual Convention, Boston MA, November 2019
American Political Science Association, Annual Conference, Washington DC, August 2019
Embassy of the United States in Côte d’Ivoire, November 2018
Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE), Harvard University, November 2018
Canadian Association of African Studies, Annual Conference, Kingston, Ontario, May 2018
International Studies Association, Annual Convention, San Francisco, April 2018
American Political Science Association, Dissertation workshop on Militaries and Democratization, Boston, August 2018.
Political Violence Workshop, Harvard University, March 2018.
American Political Science Association, Annual Conference, San Francisco, August 2017
South African Councillor Panel Study Workshop, MIT, Cambridge, MA, August 2017
MIT-Harvard-Yale-Tufts Graduate Student Conference on Political Violence, Yale University, April 2017
International Studies Association, Annual Convention, Baltimore, February 2017
Conference on the Legacies of Armed Conflict in Southern Africa and Comparative Perspectives, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, July 2016.
Olympia Summer Academy, Conflict and Political Violence Workshop, July 22 2014.
22^nd Annual Association of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN) Conference – “Nationalism, Ethnicity and Boundaries,” London School of Economics, London UK. March 2012.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Consultant
2018
MITx Micro Masters program in Statistics and Data Science
14.310x: Data Analysis in Social Science – Assessing Your Knowledge

Research Analyst
2015—2019
Freedom House (Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic)

Mine Action Officer
2013
Norwegian People’s Aid, Tajikistan

Research Associate
2013
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals High-Level Panel

Research Assistant
2011—2013
North-South Institute, Ottawa, ON Governance of Natural Resources Program

Election Observer (Short Term)
2012
Mission Canada, Ukraine Parliamentary Elections

Junior Policy Officer
2011
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa ON Tariffs and Goods Market Access Division

OTHER ACTIVITIES / MEMBERSHIPS

2021
Award Committee, International Studies Association, Global South Travel Grant

2020
Award Committee, African Politics Conference Group(APCG), Best Graduate Student Paper

2019
Participant, Executive Analytic Exchange on the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, U.S. State

2016
Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR),September 5 2019 New Era in American Foreign Policy Bridging the Gap Conference

2015
Co-creator, MIT Political Science Graduate Student Council

2014
Olympia Summer Academy, “Conflict and Political Violence” cycle

2012
MA student representative, NPSIA Director Search Committee

Professional memberships: International Studies Association, American Political Science Association, African Studies Association, Canadian African Studies Association, Working Group in African Political Economy

Peer reviewer for American Political Science Review, World Politics, Journal of Politics, Journal of Peace Research, International Security, Conflict Management and Peace Science, The Canadian Journal of African Studies, Civil Wars, Comparative Political Studies, World History, Security Studies, American Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, Comparative Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution.

LANGUAGES

English, French