MELISSA PAVLIK
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-EDUCATION-
Yale University
PhD, Political Science: January 2019
Subfields: Comparative Politics, Quantitative & Empirical Methods, International Relations
Advisor: Professor Elisabeth Wood
King's College London
M.A., War Studies: January 2019
Thesis title: Contours of Conflict: Network Position as a Predictor of Political Violence Level and Type in Afghanistan
Advisor: Professor Oisin Tansey
Honors: Distinction on thesis
The University of Chicago
B.A., Political Science; Minor, Statistics: June 2016
Thesis title: Developing Destruction:The Effects of Structural Adjustment on the Rise of Violent Non-State Actors
Advisor: Professor John J. Mearsheimer
Honors: Dean's List all years, graduated with honors
-SELECTED PUBLICATIONS-
RESEARCH & ACADEMIC
Pavlik, Melissa. "A great and sudden change: the global political violence landscape before and after the COVID-19 pandemic." Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). August 4, 2020.
Grasse, Don, Pavlik, Melissa, Matfess, Hilary, and Travis B. Curtice. “Opportunistic Repression: Patterns of civilian targeting by the state in response to COVID-19.” International Security [accepted]. July 1, 2020.
Kishi, Roudabeh, Melissa Pavlik, and Sam Jones. "ACLED 2019: The year in review." Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). March 2, 2020.
Pavlik, Melissa and Tom Hart. "The World According to the Taliban." Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). December 19, 2019.
Mehvar, Ameneh, and Melissa Pavlik. "This Time It's Different: The Implications of Recent Demonstration Events in Iraq." Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). October 23, 20219.
Nsaibia, Heni, Matfess, Hilary, Duhamel, Jules, and Melissa Pavlik. “Explosive Developments: The Growing Threat of IEDs in Western Niger.” Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). June 19, 2019.
Kishi, Roudabeh, Matfess, Hilary, and Melissa Pavlik. “‘Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal’: Political Violence Targeting Women.” Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). May 29, 2019.
WORKING MANUSCRIPTS
Kishi, Roudabeh and Melissa Pavlik. “The Evolution of the Black Lives Matter Movement: The US and Abroad .” 2021.
Pavlik, Melissa. “Contours of Conflict: Network Position as a Predictor of Political Violence Level and Type.” 2021.
POLICY & GENERAL AUDIENCE
Grasse, Don, Pavlik, Melissa, Matfess, Hilary, and Travis B. Curtice. “Autocratic governments are using coronavirus as a pretext to clamp down on opponents.” The Washington Post. 31 July 2020.
Pavlik, Melissa. “Commonwealth Dialogue: Countering Diversion of SALW and Their Ammunition (WP1632).” Wilton Park. February 8, 2019.
See website for data vizzes, infographics, and maps.
-FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS, & AWARDS-
Overbrook Fellowship Fund
Fellowship Recipient: 2021 (New Haven, CT, U.S.A.)
Awarded to support doctoral studies at Yale University
Sidney Perry Foundation Scholarship Project
Scholarship Recipient: 2018 (London, U.K.)
Awarded for exceptional academic achievement and expected professional prospects
Chizel Education Foundation Trust Award
Scholarship Recipient: 2018 (London, U.K.)
Awarded for exceptional potential to do social good
Veterans for Peace Award
Scholarship Recipient: 2018 (London, U.K.)
Awarded for dedication to promoting peace, potential for successful research in conflict studies
Hertog War Studies Program
Invited participant: July 2015 (Washington D.C., U.S.A.)
Participated in seminar on the theory and practice of war run by Drs. Fred & Kim Kagan and Gen. James Dubik; additional courses by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Gen. David Petraeus, Amb. Rob Ford, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and others. Advanced seminars on the Cold War (2017) and Salafi-Jihadism (2017).
Project for International Security Policy (PISP)
Nominated Fellow: 2014 - 2015 (Chicago, IL, U.S.A.)
One of five undergraduate students at the University of Chicago invited to be a fellow for PISP workshop
Responsible for attending and contributing to weekly sessions featuring presentations of academic working papers
-PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & RESEARCH WORK-
Institute for Social & Policy Studies (ISPS) at Yale University
(Quantitative) Research Assistant: 2021 - Present
- Research, writing, and data analysis
- Work includes coding, interviewing, compiling data, editing
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Researcher: 2020 - 2021
- Created systematic literature review for major development project
- Work resulted in upcoming publication on informality, conflict, and internal displacement in Africa
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Research Analyst: 2017 - Present
- Independently model ACLED's real-time conflict event data; investigate trends and produce research and writing
- Manage and edit over a dozen analysts'work to ensure analytically rigorous and thoughtful pieces
- Design both qualitative and quantitative analysis protocols; conduct data analysis trainings
- Use Tableau, R, Alteryx, ArcGIS, and other tools to analyze data and produce visualizations
- Work cited and featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Economist, BBC, Reuters, and others
Emerging African Paradigms Project
Researcher: 2017 - 2018
- Conducted qualitative research on shifting governance paradigms across Africa
- A joint project between the King’s College War Studies Department’s African Leadership Centre (ALC) and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)
Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
Research Fellow & Counterterrorism Analyst: 2016 - 2017
- Led the ISIS Global research portfolio for the organization; gathered data and information on attacks from hundreds of sources around the world
- Conducted independent research and analysis, and produced reports on ISIS’s global campaigns and foreign fighter networks worldwide; utilized network and data analysis, open source research skills
- Responsible for designing data architecture suitable for open source intelligence data collection, research, and analysis; supported colleagues and fielded queries in data analysis
Hudson Institute: Center for Political-Military Analysis
Research Intern: 2015
- Aided in conducting research and analysis on wide-ranging complex international security matters such as Iranian missile development and Russian counterintelligence patterns
- Helped edit and augment reports, memos, policy briefs, and publications
U.S. Department of State Virtual Student Foreign Service
Research Intern: 2014 - 2015
- Conducted research and produced articles aimed at understanding violence patterns worldwide
- Coordinated with outside organizations and various U.S. Department of State agencies
- Culmination of work included briefing a group of experts at the U.S. Department of State
-CONFERENCES & PRESENTATIONS -
American Political Science Association (APSA)
Invited Presenter: October 2021 (Seattle, WA, U.S.A.)
Paper accepted for presentation and panel
Paper title – The Evolution of the Black Lives Matter Movement: The US and Abroad
Southern Political Science Association (SPSA) - [INVITED]
Invited Presenter: Febbruary 2020 (New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.)
Paper accepted for presentation and panel
Paper title – The Evolution of the Black Lives Matter Movement: The US and Abroad
Political Violence & Its Legacies (PVL)
Invited Presenter: October 2021 (New Haven, CT, U.S.A.)
Paper presented at Yale University workshop
Paper title – Opportunistic Repression: Patterns of Civilian Targeting by the State in Response to COVID-19
Conflict Dynamics
Invited Presenter: October 2021 (Oxford, U.K.)
Paper accepted for presentation at conference hosted by Nuffield College at Oxford University
Paper title – Contours of Conflict: Network Position as a Predictor of Political Violence Level and Type
New Methods in Empirical Conflict Research
Invited Presenter: October 2019 (Paris, France)
Paper accepted for presentation at conference hosted by Households in Conflict Network (HICN)
Paper title – Contours of Conflict: Network Position as a Predictor of Political Violence Level and Type
Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) Working Group
Invited Speaker: July 2019 (Nairobi, Kenya)
Asked to make opening presentation at AFRICOM Annual C-IED conference for partner nation
Presentation title – Situation Report: The Global IED Threat and its Implications in Africa
Countering Small Arms/Light Weapons (SALW) & Their Ammunition
Rappouteur: February 2019 (Steyning, U.K.)
Invited to participate in and analyze the proceedings of Wilton Park conference on small arms threat
Report title – Countering the diversion of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and their ammunition
- TEACHING & ACADEMIC SERVICE -
University of Chicago Political Science Department
Teacher's Assistant (TA) for Geoeconomic Governance: 2015 - 2016
- First and only undergraduate asked to be a TA in the University of Chicago Political Science department
- Responsible for holding office hours, assessing coursework and papers, and leading discussions regarding the role of international institutions, the overlap between international regulations and foreign policy, and other topics
International Policy Program
Co-chair: 2015 - 2016 (Chicago, IL, U.S.A.)
- Leadership position in designing and implementing internal-politics-oriented programs for the Institute of Politics (IOP)
- Included coordination with internal and external guest speakers, IOP executive board, other groups
