Professor Kristin M Bakke

Professor of Political Science and International Relations
Room: 2.08, 29/30 Tavistock Square
Tel: 0203 108 9295
Email: kmbakke@ucl.ac.uk
Website

Biography

I am Professor of Political Science and International Relations. Focusing on political violence, my research explores how states respond to opposition within their borders, the dynamics of violence in self-determination struggles, post-war state-building and wartime legacies, and geopolitical orientations in Russia’s near abroad. I draw on both quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys and fieldwork in Northern Ireland, India, Guatemala, and post-Soviet states and de facto states. I am the author of "Decentralization and Intrastate Struggles: Chechnya, Punjab, and Québec" and numerous academic journal articles, as well as articles for a general audience.

I came to the Department of Political Science at UCL in 2009, where I have co-founded the Conflict & Change research cluster. I am a core faculty member in the European and International Social and Political Studies (EISPS) program. Prior to joining UCL, I was Assistant Professor at Leiden University and a post-doctoral fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard. I have also been affiliated with the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).

I am Chair of the Conflict Research Society (CRS), an associate editor at the Journal of Peace Research, and sit on the editorial board of International Security.

Originally from Norway, I studied political science at Østfold College, in my hometown Halden, and theatre at the University of Oslo before moving abroad. I hold a BA (2000) in journalism and political science from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a PhD (2007) in political science from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Research

Broadly focused on the causes and consequences of political violence, my research explores how states respond to opposition movements and critical voices, the dynamics of violence in self-determination struggles, post-war state-building and wartime legacies, and geopolitical orientations in Russia’s near abroad. I make use of multiple methods—large-n cross-case analyses, surveys, and fieldwork-based case studies—and collaborate with colleagues from different disciplines. For more on my research, please see my website.

My book, "Decentralization and Intrastate Struggles: Chechnya, Punjab, and Québec", was published by Cambridge University Press in 2015 and received the Conflict Research Society’s Book of the Year Award. My work has also been published in journals such as British Journal of Political Science, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Perspectives on Politics, Political Geography, Post-Soviet Affairs, Problems of Post-Communism, Security Studies, and World Politics.

Podcast: UCL Uncovering Politics

Hear Professor Bakke speak about her research on the following podcast episode:
S8 Ep10 | Brexit and Northern Ireland

Publications

Books

Bakke, K. M. (2015) Decentralization and Intrastate Struggles: Chechnya, Punjab, and Québec. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Journal articles

2024

Smidt, H., Mitchell, N. J., and Bakke, K. M. (2024) ‘A Red Flag for Public Goods: The Correlates of Civil Society Restrictions’, Governance. Early view, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12894.
Bakke, K. M., Rickard, K., O’Loughlin, J., and Toal, G. (2024) ‘Politicizing Memory: Evidence from Ukraine’, Problems of Post-Communism. Online first, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2024.2316037.
O’Loughlin, J., Linke, A. M., Toal, G., and Bakke, K. M. (2024) ‘Support for Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Neigbors: Survey Evidence From an Endorsement Experiment in Six Post-Soviet Countries’, Political Geography, 108 (January).

2023

Bakke, K. M., Rickard, K. and O’Loughlin, J. (2023) ‘Perceptions of the Past in the Post-Soviet Space’, Post-Soviet Affairs. 39(4), pp. 223–256.

2022

Godefroidt, A., Dyrstad, K. and Bakke, K. M. (2022) ‘The Past, Brexit, and the Future in Northern Ireland: A Quasi-Experiment’, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 33(1), pp. 149–161.
Dyrstad, K., Binningsbø, H. M. and Bakke, K. M. (2022) ‘Wartime Experiences and Popular Support for Peace Agreements: Comparative Evidence from Three Cases’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 66(9), pp. 1562–1588.

2021

Rickard, K., and Bakke, K. M. (2021) ‘Legacies of Wartime Order: Punishment Attacks and Social Control in Northern Ireland’, Security Studies, 30(4), pp. 603–636.
Dyrstad, K., Bakke, K. M. and Binningsbø, H. M. (2021) ‘Perceptions of Peace Agreements and Political Trust in Post-War Guatemala, Nepal, and Northern Ireland’, International Peacekeeping, 28(4), pp. 606–631
Smidt, H. M., Perera, D., Mitchell, N. J. and Bakke, K. M. (2021) ‘Silencing Their Critics: How Effective are Governments in Restricting Civil Society?’, British Journal of Political Science, 51(3), pp. 1270–1291.

2020

Bakke, K. M., Mitchell, N. J. and Smidt, H. M. (2020) ‘When States Crack Down on Human Rights Defenders’, International Studies Quarterly, 64(1), pp. 85–96.

2018

Bakke, K. M., Linke, A., O’Loughlin, J. and Toal, G. (2018) ‘Dynamics of State-Building after War: External-Internal Relations in Eurasian de facto States’, Political Geography, 63(March), pp. 159–173.

2016

Seymour, L. J. M., Bakke, K. M. and Cunningham, K. G. (2016) ‘E Pluribus Unum, Ex Uno Plures: Competition, Violence, and Fragmentation in Ethnopolitical Movements’, Journal of Peace Research, 53(1), pp. 3–18.

2014

Bakke, K. M., O’Loughlin, J., Toal, G. and Ward, M. D. (2014) ‘Convincing State-Builders? Disaggregating Internal Legitimacy in Abkhazia’, International Studies Quarterly, 58(3), pp. 591–607.
Bakke, K. M. (2014) ‘Help Wanted? The Mixed Record of Foreign Fighters in Domestic Insurgencies’, International Security, 38(4), pp. 150–187.

2012

Bakke, K. M., Cunningham, K. G. and Seymour, L. J. M. (2012) ‘A Plague of Initials: Fragmentation, Cohesion, and Infighting in Civil Wars’, Perspectives on Politics, 10(2), pp. 265–284.
Cunningham, K. G., Bakke, K. M. and Seymour, L. J. M. (2012) ‘Shirts Today, Skins Tomorrow: Dual Contests and the Effects of Fragmentation in Self-Determination Disputes’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 56(1), pp. 57–93.

2010

Ward, M. D., Greenhill, B. and Bakke, K. M. (2010) ‘The Perils of Policy by P-Value: Predicting Civil Conflicts’, Journal of Peace Research, 47(4), pp. 1–13.

2009

Bakke, K. M., O’Loughlin, J. and Ward, M. D. (2009) ‘Reconciliation in Conflict-Affected Societies: Multilevel Modeling of Individual and Contextual Factors in the North Caucasus of Russia’, Annals of American Association of Geographers, 99(1), pp. 1012–1021.
Bakke, K. M. (2009) ‘State, Society, and Separatism in Punjab’, Regional and Federal Studies, 19(2), pp. 291–308.
Bakke, K. M., Cao, X., O’Loughlin, J. and Ward, M. D. (2009) ‘Social Distance in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the North Caucasus Region of Russia: Inter and Intra-Ethnic Attitudes and Identities’, Nations and Nationalism, 15(2), pp. 229–255.

2006

Bakke, K. M. and Wibbels, E. (2006) ‘Diversity, Disparity, and Civil Conflict in Federal States’, World Politics, 59(1), pp. 1–50.

Book chapters

Juon, A. and Bakke, K. M. (2023) ‘Managing Self-Determination Struggles Through Decentralization’, in R. D. Griffiths, A. Pavković and P. Radan (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Self-Determination and Secession. London: Routledge.
Bakke, K. M. (2013) ‘Copying and Learning from Outsiders? Assessing Diffusion from Transnational Insurgents in the Chechen Wars’, in J. Checkel (ed.) Transnational Dynamics of Civil War. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 31–62.
Bakke, K. M. (2010) ‘The Turn to Violence in Chechnya and Punjab: Self-Determination Struggles in Decentralized States’, in A. Lawrence and E. Chenoweth (eds.) Rethinking Violence. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 221–248.
Bakke, K. M. (2010) ‘After the War Ends: Violence and Viability of Unrecognized States’, in N. Capersen and G. Stansfield (eds.) Unrecognized States in the International System. London: Routledge.

Full list of publications on my website

Teaching

I teach courses on ‘International Conflict and Cooperation’ (undergraduate), ‘Political Violence and Intrastate Conflict’ (undergraduate), and ‘Conflict Resolution and Post-War Development’ (postgraduate).

I welcome PhD applicants with an interest in political violence, the dynamics of civil wars and revolutionary movements, rebel governance and informal institutions, post-war state-building, and wartime legacies. For an overview of past and current PhD students, please visit my website.