Sarah Parkinson
Aronson Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies
About
Dr. Sarah E. Parkinson is the Aronson Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Her research examines organizational behavior and social change in war- and disaster-affected settings, with a focus on Southwest Asia and North Africa. Parkinson has published award-winning research on militant organizations’ decision-making and internal dynamics, political violence, forced migrants’ access to healthcare, humanitarian aid, ethics, and research methods. Most recently, she has been conducting multi-sited research on disaster preparedness/response and public safety. Dr. Parkinson’s scholarship has involved extensive fieldwork in Lebanon, Iraq, and Qatar, as well as shorter engagements in Tunisia, Turkey, and the UAE.
Dr. Parkinson’s book, Beyond the Lines: Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon (Cornell University Press, 2022) won the 2023 Routledge Lee Ann Fujii Award for Innovation in the Interpretive Study of Political Violence and received an Honorable Mention for the 2023 Best Book on Middle East and North Africa Politics from the American Political Science Association’s Middle East and North Africa Politics Organized Section. Her scholarship has been published in journals such as the American Political Science Review, World Politics, Perspectives on Politics, the European Journal of International Relations, International Studies Quarterly, Social Science and Medicine, Comparative Political Studies, and Comparative Politics in addition to outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Monkey Cage, and Good Authority. She has provided media commentary to outlets such as the Washington Post, BBC, Sky News, Bloomberg News, USA Today, ABC News, and Vox, among others.
Dr. Parkinson is a co-founder of the Advancing Research on Conflict (ARC) Consortium and sits on the advisory board of the Project on Middle East Political Science. She received her PhD and MA in political science from the University of Chicago and has held fellowships at Yale University, George Washington University, the University of Minnesota, and Northwestern University in Qatar. Parkinson speaks Arabic and French and is an active first responder in her free time.
Dr. Parkinson’s book, Beyond the Lines: Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon (Cornell University Press, 2022) won the 2023 Routledge Lee Ann Fujii Award for Innovation in the Interpretive Study of Political Violence and received an Honorable Mention for the 2023 Best Book on Middle East and North Africa Politics from the American Political Science Association’s Middle East and North Africa Politics Organized Section. Her scholarship has been published in journals such as the American Political Science Review, World Politics, Perspectives on Politics, the European Journal of International Relations, International Studies Quarterly, Social Science and Medicine, Comparative Political Studies, and Comparative Politics in addition to outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Monkey Cage, and Good Authority. She has provided media commentary to outlets such as the Washington Post, BBC, Sky News, Bloomberg News, USA Today, ABC News, and Vox, among others.
Dr. Parkinson is a co-founder of the Advancing Research on Conflict (ARC) Consortium and sits on the advisory board of the Project on Middle East Political Science. She received her PhD and MA in political science from the University of Chicago and has held fellowships at Yale University, George Washington University, the University of Minnesota, and Northwestern University in Qatar. Parkinson speaks Arabic and French and is an active first responder in her free time.
2023. “Unreported Realities: The Political Economy of Media-Sourced Data.” American Political Science Review. Published online November 21, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055423001181.
2023. “The Ghosts of Lebanon.” Foreign Affairs, November 14, 2023. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/ghosts-lebanon.
2023. “’It’s just how things are done:’ Social Ecologies of Sexual Violence in Humanitarian Aid.” International Studies Quarterly, 67(3)(September 2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqad065. With Valerie deKoeijer and Sofia J. Smith.
2022. “Reflexive Advising: Engaged Mentorship for Safe and Ethical Research Practice.” Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, 20(2): 38-41. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7140177. With Dina Zayed.
2022. “(Dis)Courtesy Bias: ‘Methodological Cognates,’ Data Validity, and Ethics in Violence-Adjacent Research.” Comparative Political Studies 25(3): 420-450. DOI: 10.1177/00104140211024309
2021. “Practical Ideology in Militant Organizations.” World Politics 73(1): 52-81. DOI: 10.1017/S0043887120000180
2021. “The Qualitative Transparency Deliberations: Insights and Implications.” Perspectives on Politics 19(1): 171-208. DOI: 10.1017/S1537592720001164. With Jacobs, Alan M., Tim Buthe, et al..
2019. “Rogues, Degenerates, and Heroes: Disobedience as Politics in Military Organizations.” European Journal of International Relations 25(3): 645-671. DOI: 10.1177/1354066118823891. With Eric Hundman.
2019. “‘Finding’ Sectarianism and Strife in Lebanon.” PS: Political Science and Politics 52(3): 494-497. DOI: 10.1017/S1049096519000143. With Faten Ghosn.
2019. “Humanitarian Crisis Research as Intervention.” Middle East Report 290 (Spring 2019): 29-37. Online: https://merip.org/2019/07/humanitarian-crisis-research-as-intervention/
2018. “How the Houthis Became ‘Shiʿa’.” Middle East Report Online (9 pages). Published January 27. Online: https://www.merip.org/mero/mero012718. With Anna Gordon.
2018. “Militant and Rebel Organization(s).” Comparative Politics 50(2): 271-293. DOI: 10.5129/001041518822263610. With Sherry Zaks.
2016. “Money Talks: Discourse, Networks, and Structure in Militant Organizations.” Perspectives on Politics 14 (4): 976-994. DOI: 10.1017/S1537592716002875
2015. “Negotiating Health and Life: Syrian Refugees and the Politics of Access in Lebanon.” Social Science & Medicine 146 (December): 324–31. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.008. With Orkideh Behrouzan.
2015. “Transparency in Intensive Research on Violence: Ethical Dilemmas and Unforeseen Consequences.” Qualitative and Multi-Method Research 13(1): 22-27. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.89308. With Elisabeth Jean Wood.
2013. “Organizing Rebellion: Rethinking High-Risk Mobilization and Social Networks in War.” American Political Science Review 107 (3): 418-432. DOI: 10.1017/S0003055413000208
2023. “The Ghosts of Lebanon.” Foreign Affairs, November 14, 2023. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/ghosts-lebanon.
2023. “’It’s just how things are done:’ Social Ecologies of Sexual Violence in Humanitarian Aid.” International Studies Quarterly, 67(3)(September 2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqad065. With Valerie deKoeijer and Sofia J. Smith.
2022. “Reflexive Advising: Engaged Mentorship for Safe and Ethical Research Practice.” Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, 20(2): 38-41. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7140177. With Dina Zayed.
2022. “(Dis)Courtesy Bias: ‘Methodological Cognates,’ Data Validity, and Ethics in Violence-Adjacent Research.” Comparative Political Studies 25(3): 420-450. DOI: 10.1177/00104140211024309
2021. “Practical Ideology in Militant Organizations.” World Politics 73(1): 52-81. DOI: 10.1017/S0043887120000180
2021. “The Qualitative Transparency Deliberations: Insights and Implications.” Perspectives on Politics 19(1): 171-208. DOI: 10.1017/S1537592720001164. With Jacobs, Alan M., Tim Buthe, et al..
2019. “Rogues, Degenerates, and Heroes: Disobedience as Politics in Military Organizations.” European Journal of International Relations 25(3): 645-671. DOI: 10.1177/1354066118823891. With Eric Hundman.
2019. “‘Finding’ Sectarianism and Strife in Lebanon.” PS: Political Science and Politics 52(3): 494-497. DOI: 10.1017/S1049096519000143. With Faten Ghosn.
2019. “Humanitarian Crisis Research as Intervention.” Middle East Report 290 (Spring 2019): 29-37. Online: https://merip.org/2019/07/humanitarian-crisis-research-as-intervention/
2018. “How the Houthis Became ‘Shiʿa’.” Middle East Report Online (9 pages). Published January 27. Online: https://www.merip.org/mero/mero012718. With Anna Gordon.
2018. “Militant and Rebel Organization(s).” Comparative Politics 50(2): 271-293. DOI: 10.5129/001041518822263610. With Sherry Zaks.
2016. “Money Talks: Discourse, Networks, and Structure in Militant Organizations.” Perspectives on Politics 14 (4): 976-994. DOI: 10.1017/S1537592716002875
2015. “Negotiating Health and Life: Syrian Refugees and the Politics of Access in Lebanon.” Social Science & Medicine 146 (December): 324–31. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.008. With Orkideh Behrouzan.
2015. “Transparency in Intensive Research on Violence: Ethical Dilemmas and Unforeseen Consequences.” Qualitative and Multi-Method Research 13(1): 22-27. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.89308. With Elisabeth Jean Wood.
2013. “Organizing Rebellion: Rethinking High-Risk Mobilization and Social Networks in War.” American Political Science Review 107 (3): 418-432. DOI: 10.1017/S0003055413000208
In the News
Biden's Whirlwind Israel Trip Fails to Calm Fears of Wider Middle East Conflict
The Business Standard, October 19, 2023
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ABC News, October 12, 2023