Alexander Downes - Defense Priorities

Deterrence, Air power, International security, Nuclear weapons, and Regime change

Alexander Downes

Non-Resident Fellow

Alexander B. Downes is a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities.

He is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University, where he also directs the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies. He works in the area of international security broadly defined, including subjects like civilian victimization in war, foreign-imposed regime change, military effectiveness, coercion, alliances, and civil war.

Downes is the author of two books, both from Cornell University Press: Targeting Civilians in War (2008) and Catastrophic Success: Why Foreign-Imposed Regime Change Goes Wrong (2021). His work has appeared in numerous journals, including the British Journal of Political Science, International Organization, International Security, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Strategic Studies, and Security Studies, as well as multiple edited volumes.

Downes’s research and teaching have been recognized with several awards. Targeting Civilians in War won the Joseph Lepgold Prize from Georgetown University for the best book in international relations published in 2008. In 2016, Downes was named the winner of the inaugural Emerging Scholar Award by the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association. And in 2022, he received the Elliott School’s Michael E. Brown Research Prize for his contribution to scholarly and policy-relevant understanding of important global issues. In recognition of his efforts in the classroom, Downes received the 2020 Harry Harding Teaching Prize from the Elliott School.

Downes has held fellowships at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, as well as the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. His work has been funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Department of Defense Minerva Initiative, Eisenhower Institute, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and Smith Richardson Foundation.

Downes teaches a variety of courses on IR and international security for undergraduates, M.A. students at the Elliott School, and Ph.D. students in Political Science. He holds an M.A. in International Relations and a Ph.D. in Political Science, both from the University of Chicago.