Ches Thurber

I am a Ph.D. candidate in international relations at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and an Adjunct Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where I teach courses in International Relations, Security Studies, and Political Methodology.  My research focuses on international security and Middle East politics with a particular emphasis on the spectrum of intra-state conflict from civil resistance to civil war.  My dissertation examines factors affecting resistance movements’ usage of violent and non-violent strategies.  I am also involved in a joint project between The Fletcher School and MIT’s Lincoln Laboratories to assess the future of international space policy and governance.  My research has been supported by the Eisenhower Institute, the Bradley Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the International Security Studies Program at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Previously, I worked as a policy aide in the Vermont General Assembly and in the U.S. House of Representatives.