On October 20, the "Threats and Promises in International Politics” research workshop brought together some of the world's top scholars from leading universities working on issues related to coercive diplomacy for a single-day workshop at the Watson Institute. The workshop's purpose was to solicit scholarly feedback and support cross-institutional research cooperation.
The organizer of the workshop — Dean's Assistant Professor of Nuclear Security and Policy Reid Pauly — invited six assistant professors to present research and six senior scholars to serve as discussants.
“It was such a terrific group of people," said Pauly. "I'm so grateful to everyone who attended. These are some of the most fun days we have as scholars. Everyone read every paper, and we spent time really digging into the ideas, questioning assumptions, and learning from each other."
Workshop presenters and discussants came from a number of top institutions including, Australia National University, Brown University, Duke University, the Harvard Kennedy School, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Northwestern University, Stanford University, University of St. Gallen and Wellesley College.
Six papers were presented in total and covered themes that included kidnapping in civil wars, international coercion, alliance reassurance during times of crisis, communication and negotiation in international politics, escalation and uncertainty in gray-zone conflicts, and the question of U.S. resolve in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.
Pauly indicated he was pleased with the results of the workshop and noted, "It was also a great opportunity for our graduate students. Six Brown political science Ph.D. students attended, offered their feedback on the papers, and got to interact with some of the biggest names in our field." Pauly also praised Watson’s Senior Events Manager Ellen White who he said, “expertly organized all of the logistics for the conference.”