Alec Worsnop is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park and a research fellow at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM). His research looks into sub-state conflict, with a particular focus on the internal dynamics of non-state armed actors. Ongoing projects examine insurgent groups’ combat capability and training programs, their recruitment strategies to attract high-skilled fighters, and their civil-military relations.
His work on insurgent military organization has appeared in Security Studies and Political Science Research and Methods and has been supported by organizations including the Modern War Institute at West Point, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and the Smith Richardson Foundation.
He received his PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an affiliate of the security studies program. Previously, he worked for a USAID implementing partner, developing and managing assistance programs for Afghanistan and the Middle East.
- International security; civil war & political violence; civil-military relations; military organization & effectiveness
Utilizes our unique location in the Washington, DC region to create a laboratory within which to analyze local, regional, national and international policy problems. Students will be put into teams and assigned to real and timely policy cases. The course will include meetings and field trips with local leaders in the field, ideally connected to the cases. Student will then expand and apply their use of policy analysis and evaluation skills to define those problems, analyze alternative responses, devise appropriate strategies for implementation, and evaluate the success of the proposed policy and implementation. The course will conclude with team presentations to local leaders and faculty. This distinctive course will serve to prepare students for their client- based senior capstone course. Restricted to students who have earned a minimum of 60 credits; and must be in a major in PLCY.
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Introduces statistical methods needed for evaluating and choosing among policy options. Topics include probability; decision-making under uncertainty; the organization, interpretation, and visual display of complex data; prediction and inferences about causality; hypothesis testing; and linear and multiple regression. Develops analytical skills and the ability to apply theory to complex, real-world problems.
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Reviews the analytical literature on civil violence, episodes of intervention, and challenges associated with post-conflict reconstruction. Explores the logic that justifies intervention in some cases, and the requirements for effective stabilization and reconstruction.
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