Jóhanna Birnir
Professor of Government and Politics & Director, Global Learning
University of Maryland, College Park
About
Jóhanna Kristín Birnir is Professor in the Department of Government and Politics and the Director of GVPT Global Learning. She studies the effect of identity on contentious political outcomes and has done extensive fieldwork in the Andes, Southeast Europe and Indonesia. Jóhanna´s first book Ethnicity and Electoral Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2009) examines the relationship between political access and minority strategic choice of peaceful electoral participation, protest, or violence against the state. Her current book project (under contract with Cambridge University Press and supported by the Global Religion Research Initiative - University of Notre Dame) examines the relationship between identity (ethnicity and religion) and minority peaceful and violent political mobilization. Jóhanna´s articles on identity and politics are published in numerous academic journals including the American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Peace Research, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Party Politics, the Latin American Research Review, and the Journal of Global Security Studies. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, and the Folke Bernadotte Academy.
Interests
- Comparative Politics
- Identity Politics
- Fieldwork
Education
PhD in Political Science, 2001
University of California, Los Angeles
MA in Political Science, 1993
University of California, Los Angeles
BA in Latin American Studies, 1998
University of California, Irvine
Matriculation Examination, 1989
Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð, Reykjavík, Iceland