WICS logo Women in Conflict Studies (WICS)

A Scholarly Association of Women Who Engage in Scientific Research on International Conflict and Cooperation


  • WICS History and Purpose
  • Join the WICS Listserv
  • Upcoming WICS Events
  • WICS Participants
  • WICS Participants Seeking Faculty Positions
  • Contact WICS
  • Other Useful Links

WICS History and Purpose
WICS was born as a result of casual conversations among a small group of assistant professors. These women were puzzled by their perception that qualified women working in their area of research seemed to be dropping out of the discipline at a higher rate than men. They were concerned that the small numbers of women in their field did not seem to be improving at an adequate rate, so they agreed to invite some other women to gather at the 2001 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association to brainstorm about what they could do to help alter this trend. Eight faculty members participated in this initial meeting.

The group discussed a number of societal and institutional explanations that can help to account for the low numbers of women following and succeeding in this career path. They agreed that discipline-wide and university-wide women’s caucuses are strong advocates for policy change on issues that disproportionately affect women. There was also agreement, however, that networking, support, and mentoring make a big difference in the probability that women choose to continue in academia and that providing opportunities for networking and mentoring was a role that a small group of women working in a similar research area could play. Their solution was WICS.

In essence, the primary goal of WICS is to help integrate women into the profession early, and to provide women with an additional source of contacts working in the same general research area with whom they can collaborate and exchange feedback on their work, as well as gain advice on professional matters, both gender related and non-gender related. Since 2001, we have hosted gatherings at major conferences at least twice per year. In addition, we maintain two listservs, one for faculty members and one for graduate students, that encourage discussion and interaction regarding professional matters.

Most of our members are women who study international conflict and cooperation using formal modeling and/or statistical analysis. Many are also members of the Peace Science Society, the Conflict Processes Section of the American Political Science Association, and the Scientific Study of International Processes Section of the International Studies Association. As of August, 2008, our faculty listserv has 112 members, and our graduate student listserv has 114 members.

We believe that a sense of community is important in integrating young women into our profession, and that women who have the opportunity to get to know other women working in their area of research are more likely to be both successful and satisfied. WICS hopes to complement the variety of venues available for professional socialization, networking, and mentoring by providing another outlet aimed to encourage and support the participation of women in our field.



Join the WICS Listserv
WICS operates two listservs, one for women in faculty positions and one for female graduate students. Both listservs serve as forums for discussion and networking as well as venues through which we coordinate and announce upcoming gatherings. We welcome all women who are engaged in scientific research on international conflict and cooperation to join the WICS listservs.

To join the WICS faculty listserv, go to https://mailman.rice.edu/mailman/listinfo/irwomen-l or email WICS@rice.edu.

To join the WICS graduate student listserv, go to https://mailman.rice.edu/mailman/listinfo/wicsgrads-l or email WICS@rice.edu.



Upcoming WICS Events
  • Journeys in World Politics: A Workshop Sponsored by the University of Iowa
    Kelly Kadera and Sara McLaughlin Mitchell are hosting a series of workshops for female scholars of world politics. The Journeys workshop brings together junior and senior women working in IR. The weekend experience is highlighted by:
    • Research presentations by junior scholars
    • Feedback on research from conference participants
    • Sessions on career and gender topics
    • Oral autobiographies by senior scholars
    The 2009 workshop will take place October 15-18, 2009. The deadline for applications is August 1, 2009.

WICS Faculty Participants
Emily Acevedo, California State University Los Angeles, eaceved3@calstatela.edu
Isabella Alcañiz, University of Houston, ialcaniz@uh.edu
Susan Allen, University of Mississippi, shallen@olemiss.edu
Katherine Barbieri, University of South Carolina, katherine.barbieri@sc.edu
Bethany Barratt, Roosevelt University, bbarratt@roosevelt.edu
Michelle A. Benson, University at Buffalo, SUNY, mbenson2@buffalo.edu
Marie Besancon, Homes for Sudan, mariebesancon@gmail.com
Shannon L. Blanton, University of Memphis, sblanton@memphis.edu
Carew E. Boulding, University of Colorado, carew.boulding@colorado.edu
Dawn Brancati, Washington University-St. Louis, brancati@wustl.edu
Marijke Breuning, University of North Texas, marijke.breuning@unt.edu
Charity Butcher, Kennesaw State University, cbutche2@kennesaw.edu
Rachel Bzostek, California State University-Bakersfield, rbzostek@csub.edu
Mary Caprioli, University of Minnesota-Duluth, mcapriol@d.umn.edu
Sabine C. Carey, University of Nottingham, sabine.carey@nottingham.ac.uk
Lisa Carlson, University of Idaho, lcarl@uidaho.edu
Sarah E. Croco, University of Maryland, scroco@umd.edu
Erica Chenoweth, Wesleyan University, echenoweth@wesleyan.edu
Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, Iowa State University and PRIO, kgc@iastate.edu
Xinyuan Dai, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, xdai@uiuc.edu
Vesna Danilovic, University at Buffalo, SUNY, vesna@buffalo.edu
Christina Davis, Princeton University, cldavis@princeton.edu
Ursula Daxecker, Colorado State University, Ursula.daxecker@colostate.edu
Jacqueline DeMeritt, University of North Texas, jdemeritt@unt.edu
Daniela Donno, University of Pittsburgh, donno@pitt.edu
Songying Fang, Rice University, sfang@rice.edu
Tanisha Fazal, Columbia University, tmf2001@columbia.edu
Katharine M. Floros, University of Missouri-Columbia, florosk@missouri.edu
Virginia Page Fortna, Columbia University, vpf4@columbia.edu
Ismene Gizelis, University of Kent, I.Gizelis@kent.ac.uk
Joanne Gowa, Princeton University, jgowa@princeton.edu
Alexandra Guisinger, University of Notre Dame, guisinger.1@nd.edu
Caroline A. Hartzell, Gettysburg College, chartzel@gettysburg.edu
Susan D. Hyde, Yale University, susan.hyde@yale.edu
Zaryab Iqbal, Pennsylvania State University, iqbal@psu.edu
Kelly M. Kadera, University of Iowa, kelly-kadera@uiowa.edu
Soo Yeon Kim, University of Maryland, skim@gvpt.umd.edu
Anessa L. Kimball, Université Laval, anessa.kimball@pol.ulaval.ca
Shanna A. Kirschner, Allegheny College, skirschn@allegheny.edu
Sarah E. Kreps, Cornell University, sarah.kreps@cornell.edu
Janet Laible, Lehigh University, jml6@lehigh.edu
Catherine Langlois, Georgetown University, langlois@georgetown.edu
Brett Ashley Leeds, Rice University, leeds@rice.edu
Carmela Lutmar, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, clutmar@princeton.edu
Anne Mandeville, Université des Sciences Sociales de Toulouse, anmandevi@aol.com
Michaela Mattes, Vanderbilt University, michaela.c.mattes@vanderbilt.edu
Molly Mooring Melin, Loyola University Chicago, mmelin@luc.edu
Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, University of Iowa, sara-mitchell@uiowa.edu
Layna Mosley, University of North Carolina, mosley@unc.edu
Amanda Murdie, Kansas State University, amurdie@ksu.edu
Desiree Nilsson, Uppsala University, desiree.nilsson@pcr.uu.se
Emilia Justyna Powell, University of Alabama, ejpowell1@as.ua.edu
Kathy Powers, University of New Mexico, kpowers1@unm.edu
Karen Rasler, Indiana University, krasler@indiana.edu
Maria Rost Rublee, University of Auckland, m.rublee@auckland.ac.nz
Thania Sanchez, University of Iowa, thania-sanchez@uiowa.edu
Meredith Reid Sarkees, American University, sarkees@american.edu
Anne E. Sartori, Northwestern University, a-sartori@northwestern.edu
Nil Satana, Bilkent University, nsatana@bilkent.edu.tr
Elizabeth N. Saunders, George Washington University, esaunder@gwu.edu
Burcu Savun, University of Pittsburgh, burcu@pitt.edu
Debra Shulman, College of William and Mary, dlshulman@wm.edu
Megan Shannon, University of Mississippi, mshannon@olemiss.edu
Laura Sjoberg, University of Florida, sjoberg@ufl.edu
Etel Solingen, University of California-Irvine, etel.solingen@uci.edu
Jessica Stanton, University of Pennsylvania, jstan@sas.upenn.edu
Patricia Sullivan, University of Georgia, tsulli@uga.edu
Monica Toft, Harvard University, monica_toft@harvard.edu
Jana von Stein, University of Michigan, janavs@umich.edu
Barbara Walter, University of California, San Diego, bfwalter@ucsd.edu
Jessica L. Weeks, Cornell University jweeks@cornell.edu
Jessica C. Weiss, Yale University, jcweiss@gmail.com
Amanda E. Wooden, Bucknell University, amanda.wooden@bucknell.edu
Kathleen Young, University of Maryland, kyoung@gvpt.umd.edu
Amy Yuen, Middlebury College, ayuen@middlebury.edu



WICS Participants Seeking Faculty Positions
The following women seek faculty positions to begin in 2010. We provide this listing for informational purposes only. The listing is not exhaustive (candidates are listed by their request), and information is provided by the candidates themselves. Click on a candidate's name to be linked to her website or curriculum vitae. If you would like to be listed as a job candidate on our site, please contact WICS.

Karisa Cloward, (Ph.D., Yale University, expected 2010)
Dissertation: When Norms Collide: Micro-Level Responses to the Transnational Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence

Courtenay Ryals Conrad, (Ph.D., Florida State University, expected 2010)
Dissertation: Constrained at Home: Domestic Mobilization, Institutions, and the Implementation of International Human Rights Law

Ozlem Elgun, (Ph.D., Emory University, expected 2010)
Dissertation: Institutions of Leadership Tenure and Succession and Authoritarian Conflict Behavior

Courtney Hillebrecht, (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, expected 2010)
Dissertation: From Paper Tigers to Engines of Change: The Effect of Regional Human Rights Courts on Domestic Practice and Politics

Tana Johnson, (Ph.D., University of Chicago, expected 2009)
Dissertation: Rethinking IGO Independence: The Role of Intergovernmental Organizations in Institutional Design

Aparna Kher, (Ph.D., Binghamton University (SUNY), expected 2010)
Dissertation: Know Then Thyself: Domestic Delegation, Information, Leadership Uncertainty and Foreign Policy Decisions During Crisis Bargaining

Amanda Licht, (Ph.D., University of Iowa, expected 2010)
Dissertation: Private Incentives, Public Outcomes: The Role of Target Political Incentives in Foreign Policy Success

Emily Hencken Ritter, (Ph.D., Emory University, expected 2010)
Dissertation: Explaining Human Rights Violations: Repression, Dissent, and the Role of Domestic and International Legal Institutions

Aimee A. Tannehill, (Ph.D., University of California-Davis, expected 2010)
Dissertation: Cuts Both Ways: A Systematic Examination of the Relationship Between Civil War and Interstate Conflict

Jenifer Whitten-Woodring, (Ph.D., University of Southern California, expected 2009)
Dissertation: Fourth Estate, Fifth Column or Megaphone: Media Freedom, Democracy, and Government Respect for Human Rights



Contact WICS
If you would like to receive more information about WICS or would like to share announcements or ideas with WICS participants, please email WICS@rice.edu. You will also find individual participant contact information here.


Other Useful Links
Bibliography of Articles About Women in Political Science
APSA Report: Women's Advancement in Political Science

American Political Science Association
APSA Women's Caucus
APSA Task Force on Mentoring
Conflict Processes Section of APSA
International Studies Association
ISA Women's Caucus
Scientific Study of International Processes Section of ISA
Peace Science Society

Women in International Security (WIIS)

American Association of University Women



Maintained by Brett Ashley Leeds
Send comments or questions about this site to leeds@rice.edu
Last modified October, 2009