Austin Knuppe

Austin Knuppe is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Utah State University and the inaugural Director of the Heravi Peace Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from The Ohio State University (2019) and previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College's Dickey Center for International Understanding. His research focuses on civilian survival strategies during wartime, Middle East politics, and religion's role in international relations.

Key projects include his 2024 book, Surviving the Islamic State: Contention, Cooperation, and Neutrality in Wartime Iraq, which examines how Iraqi civilians navigated Islamic State governance through heuristic survival strategies. He co-founded the Conflict to Peace Lab at Ohio State, which studies community resilience in Yemen and other conflict zones. His work bridges academic research with practical peacebuilding initiatives.

Knuppe’s research spans case studies in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Ukraine, analyzing themes like civilian agency, insurgent governance, and peacebuilding mechanisms. His current projects emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to conflict resolution and policy-relevant scholarship.