Kyle Beardsley
· Professor of Political ScienceVerifiedDuke University · International Development Policy
Active 2000–2025
About
Kyle Beardsley is a Professor of Political Science and a faculty member at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. He serves as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Political Science Masters of Arts Program and is an affiliate of the Duke Center for International Development. His academic and professional roles are based at Duke University, located at 140 Science Dr, Durham, NC 27708. He can be contacted via email at kyle.beardsley@duke.edu or by phone at (919) 613-7401. His work involves teaching and research in political science and public policy, contributing to graduate education and policy development.
Research topics
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Law
- Political economy
- Public administration
- Public relations
- Criminology
Selected publications
2025-06-27
book-chapter2025-06-27
book-chapterUnderstanding Near Crises and Escalation in World Politics
2025-06-27
bookThis book introduces the near crisis phase of conflict and escalation. These time-sensitive disputes between states, and even with violent non-state actors, do not involve significant risk of military escalation, at least in the moment. Investigating how and why some near crises escalate, while others do not, requires an explanation of the different dynamics of international disputes and the policy tools that states and international institutions can employ. We ask an expanded set of questions about specific cases and general patterns of conflict behavior, such as: why did Israeli leaders respond to Hezbollah’s 2006 cross-border raid with escalation, resulting in the Second Lebanon War, while in previous instances the Israelis limited their retaliation? Why didn’t the 2015 Iranian Ballistic Missile Test or the 1995 Norwegian Black Brant Missile Launch escalate, while the 2009 North Korea Missile Movement and the 1995 Taiwan Straits dispute tipped into a full-blown crisis, and why did the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict escalate from near crisis to war? We use primary sources and newly created data on near crises to answer these questions and others. The overall conclusion is that an ounce of prevention at the near crisis phase is worth a pound of cure in averting a full-blown crisis or war. This book will be of great interest to students of security studies, conflict studies, foreign policy, and international relations.
Implications of Near Crises for the Policy Practitioner Community
2025-06-27
book-chapterJournal of Peace Research · 2025-06-14
articleOpen accessAbstract Existing research has shown that horizontal inequalities arising from comparisons between ethnic groups can promote ethno-nationalist conflict. However, these studies have largely focused on comparison between groups within the same country. In this article, we extend this perspective and study comparisons with kin groups abroad and how they affect the risk of ethnic civil war. In particular, we address the fact that many groups have several kin groups abroad, all of which could serve as reference points for comparison. Drawing on insights from social psychology, we argue that the comparisons made with different groups involve distinct motivations, which can yield varying degrees of stimulus related to the outbreak of ethno-nationalist conflict. Our results suggest that comparisons with kin groups abroad – especially the best (most well-off) groups, as well as the nearest or median groups – are salient in increasing the propensity for conflict incidence. Moreover, groups that are relatively well-off and thus prone to downward comparisons, especially when the group is wealthier than all of its transnational kin groups, are much less likely to fight. A novel finding emerges: relative poverty in comparison with transnational kin does not appear to exacerbate the potential for conflict, but relative wealth does appear to attenuate it.
Near Crises and the Process of Escalation in World Politics
2025-06-27
book-chapterDissecting the Dynamics of Near Crises
2025-06-27
book-chapterTerrorist and Insurgent Organizations in Near Crises
2025-06-27
book-chapterNear Crises and Escalation Processes
2025-06-27
book-chapterGreat power politics and the dynamics of capability: the prevention of near-crisis escalation
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2024-06-12
book-chapterHow do changes in military capability among the great powers affect conflict processes? The authors argue that this relationship should be evaluated at a lower point in the conflict escalation cycle by focusing on near-crisis events. They develop propositions from the dynamics of capability literature and quantitatively evaluate what factors contribute to the (de-)escalation of near crises, using a dataset of involving at least one great power between 1995 and 2015. The patterns of near-crisis initiation and management confirm some of the expectations from both power transition theory and power cycle theory. They evaluate three near-crisis cases to stimulate future research on the connection between dynamics of capability and (de-)escalation at the near-crisis stage.
Frequent coauthors
- 41 shared
Chong Chen
Tsinghua University
- 23 shared
Kristian Skrede Gleditsch
- 21 shared
Sabrina Karim
- 17 shared
Nathaniel Beck
New York University
- 13 shared
Victor Asal
- 10 shared
Kaitlyn Webster
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- 5 shared
Peter B. White
Auburn University
- 4 shared
Robert Blair
American University
Education
- 2006
Ph.D.
UCSD
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