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Boaz Atzili Professor Foreign Policy & Global Security

Additional Positions at AU
Faculty, Center for Israel Studies
Degrees
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; BA, International Relations, Hebrew University in Jerusalem

Languages Spoken
English, Hebrew
Bio
Dr. Boaz Atzili is a political scientist who researches and teaches international politics. His interest is in international security with an emphasis on the politics of borders, borderlands and territoriality, Asymmetric deterrence, and the international aspects of state weakness. He has conducted research on the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Atzili teaches courses include "Territorial Conflicts," "International Relation Theory," "Schools of Thought in International Relations," "Security and Insecurity in a Global World," "Dynamics of International (in)Security," "Weak States and War," and "Arab-Israeli relations."
Atzili's book publications include Triadic Deterrence: Israel, Arab States, and Non-State Actors (2018, Columbia University Press, with Wendy Pearlman), Territorial Designs and International Politics: Inside-out and Outside-In (Routledge, 2017, edited with Burak kadercan), and Good Fences Bad Neighbors: Border Fixity and International Conflict (University of Chicago Press, 2012). He published articles in venues including International Security, International Affairs, Security Studies, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, International Studies Review, and Territory, Politics, Governance.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • SIS-712 Adv Topic Glbl Govrn Pol & Sec: Territorial Conflicts

  • SISG-760 Global International Relations

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

International security with an emphasis on territorial conflicts, the politics of borders, military doctrine, and the international aspects of state weakness and state failure. The Middle East, South and East Asia, and, in particular, Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Selected Publications

  • Good Fences, Bad Neighbors: Border Fixity and International Conflict  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, January 2012).
  • “Triadic Deterrence: Coercing Strength, Beaten by Weakness,” Security Studies, forthcoming (co-authored with Wendy Pearlman).
  • “State Weakness and Vacuum of Power' in Lebanon,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 33, No. 8 (August 2010): 757-782.
  • "When Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Fixed Borders, State Weakness, and International Conflict," International Security, Winter 2006-2007.
  • "The Virtues and Vices of Fixed Territorial Ownership," SAIS Review of International Affairs, Summer/Fall 2007.
  • "Border Fixity and the Transformation of International Relations," Harvard International Review," [On-Line Publication, September 2008].
  • "Peace Process." in William A. Darity (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition (Macmillan Reference USA, 2007).

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
  • Kenneth N. Waltz Prize, Best International Security Dissertation, 2006, "Border Fixity: When Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors."

Professional Presentations

  • "A Lasting Failure: Fixed Borders and State Weakness in Lebanon," Presented at the annual convention of the International Studies Association, San Francisco, California, March 2008.
  • "Weak State and Transnational Insurgency: The PLO and Hezbollah in Lebanon." Presented at the annual convention of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, August-September 2007.
  • "Border Fixity: When Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, and When They Make Bad Ones." Presented at the annual convention of the International Studies Association, San Diego, California, March 2006.
  • "Border Fixity: When Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, and When They Make Bad Ones." Presented at the "New Faces in International Security" conference at the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS), Duke University, North Carolina, September 2005.
  • "Complex Spiral of Escalation: the Case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Presented at the annual convention of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, September 2004.
  • "Good Fences can Make Bad Neighbors: State Weakness, Border Fixity and the War in Congo." Presented at the annual convention of the International Studies Association, Montreal, Canada, March 2004. 

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

international politics, Middle East, Israel, Palestinians, terrorism, conflict, Lebanon, territorial conflict

Additional Information

Boaz Atzili is a political scientist who researches and teaches international politics. His interest is in international security with an emphasis on territorial conflicts and the politics of borders, and the international aspects of state weakness and state failure. His research includes various cases from the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Atzili is also interested in the politics of the Middle East and, in particular, Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dr. Atzili teaches courses on introduction to international relations, international security, and Arab-Israeli relations.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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