About
Virginia Page Fortna is the Harold Brown Professor of U.S. Foreign and Security Policy and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. She is a leading scholar in international relations with expertise in conflict resolution, peacekeeping operations, and civil war dynamics.
Professor Fortna earned her BA from Wesleyan University and completed her Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1998. Her academic career has been centered at Columbia where she has established herself as a prominent figure in international security studies through rigorous research and scholarly leadership.
Fortna's research focuses on terrorism in civil conflicts, international climate politics, peace durability after wars, and war termination processes. Her work integrates quantitative and qualitative methodologies while addressing policy-relevant questions. She is particularly renowned for her groundbreaking studies on peacekeeping effectiveness that have reshaped academic understanding of post-conflict stabilization. Her scholarship consistently challenges conventional wisdom, as evidenced by recent work questioning whether terrorism is truly 'a weapon of the weak.'
Her publication record shows an evolution from foundational work on peace agreements and ceasefire durability to more recent investigations of terrorist tactics in civil wars. Throughout her career, Fortna has maintained methodological innovation, often developing new datasets to address critical questions in international security. Her research combines theoretical diversity with empirical rigor, making significant contributions to both academic debates and policy discussions.
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2021)
- Lenfest Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award (2014)
- Karl Deutsch Award from International Studies Association (2010)
- Fellowships at multiple prestigious research institutions
Professor Fortna mentors graduate students through Columbia's Ph.D. program and teaches courses on international politics, climate change, war termination, terrorism, cooperation and security, and research methods. Her research has received substantial support through fellowships from leading academic institutions, reflecting the significance and policy relevance of her work in international relations.
Based in New York with connections to Portland, Oregon, Fortna continues active research on terrorism in civil wars and international power dynamics in the anthropocene. Her scholarship remains highly influential in both academic and policy circles, particularly regarding effective conflict resolution strategies and international security frameworks.
