Kai M. Thaler

Kai M. Thaler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with faculty affiliations in Political Science and Latin American and Iberian Studies. He is an affiliated researcher at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and served as a 2023-24 non-resident Fellow at the Centre for the Comparative Study of Civil War at the University of York.

• PhD in Government from Harvard University
• AM in Government from Harvard University
• M.Soc.Sc. in Sociology from University of Cape Town
• BA in Political Science from Yale University

His research focuses on civil wars, political violence, conflict resolution, authoritarianism, democratization, and statebuilding, with regional expertise in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Methodologically, he specializes in qualitative and mixed methods research, including interviews, archival research, comparative historical analysis, surveys, and cross-national statistical analysis.

Thaler has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and Hellman Fellows Fund. His work has been published in leading journals such as Comparative Politics, Journal of Democracy, Security Studies, and World Development, as well as in edited volumes.

He is the author of the forthcoming book When Rebels Win: Ideology, Statebuilding, and Power after Civil Wars (Cornell University Press, 2025), based on fieldwork in Liberia, Nicaragua, and Uganda. He actively engages with public debates through writing in outlets like Foreign Policy, Washington Post, and Al Jazeera, and provides analysis on Nicaraguan politics and asylum cases.

Additional experience includes postdoctoral work at the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy, University of Denver, and professional roles with organizations including Freedom House and Handicap International. He is fluent in Spanish, with proficiency in Portuguese and French.