Stephanie Savell

Stephanie Savell is a Research Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, where she serves as Director of the Costs of War project. Her work focuses on US foreign policy, militarism, security, and activism, with particular expertise in the post-9/11 wars and US counterterrorism operations globally.

Savell earned her Ph.D. from Brown University, establishing her academic foundation in anthropology and international relations. Her educational background has informed her approach to public scholarship that bridges academic research and policy impact.

Savell's research interests span US foreign policy, war and militarism, security studies, activism, and counterterrorism operations. She has developed a particular expertise in mapping and analyzing US military interventions since 9/11, with her global map of US counterterrorism operations being featured by major media outlets including USA Today, CNN, BBC World News, and Smithsonian magazine. Her work examines how US military engagement affects civilian populations and contributes to security dynamics both internationally and domestically.

Under Savell's leadership, the Costs of War project has produced research cited in thousands of media articles and broadcasts, and by President Biden in his official speech about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on documenting the human and financial costs of military operations, with particular attention to how counterterrorism operations have expanded and their consequences in regions like Africa and the Middle East.

Savell regularly appears in major media outlets including CNN, NPR, Al Jazeera, Vox, 'The Problem with Jon Stewart,' C-SPAN Washington Journal, and Democracy Now. She co-authored 'The Civic Imagination: Making a Difference in American Political Life' (Routledge, 2014) and continues to produce influential research on the human and financial costs of US military engagement.

Savell directs the Costs of War project, a major interdisciplinary research initiative at Brown University that examines the impact of the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and beyond; the US global military footprint; and the domestic effects of US military spending. The project brings together scholars from various disciplines to produce comprehensive analyses of America's military engagements, with findings regularly cited in policy debates and media coverage of US military operations.