Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham

Prof. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham is a Professor at the Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland. She specializes in self-determination conflicts, civil war dynamics, nonviolent resistance, and the intersection of climate change with conflict governance. Her research bridges political theory and empirical analysis, emphasizing rebel group strategies and institutional behaviors.

Education: PhD in Political Science from University of California, San Diego (2007). Notable affiliations include Senior Researcher at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and roles as BSOS Advance Professor at UMD. She maintains the Rebel Governance Network and co-leads the Non-State Armed Governance Group.

Research interests focus on rebel governance systems, climate adaptation strategies among armed groups, and transnational conflict dynamics. Recent work explores how climate change influences nonstate actors' governance structures and conflict resolution mechanisms.

Her publications span major journals like American Journal of Political Science and Journal of Peace Research, with recent themes including 'rebel governance in climate crises' and 'self-determination referendum drivers'. Key contributions include the Strategies of Resistance Data Project and FORGE dataset on rebel group origins.

Awards: Fulbright Scholar (2013). Editorial roles include Associate Editor at American Journal of Political Science. Engaged in global policy dialogues through talks at institutions like Edinburgh Dialogue on Constitution Building and DOD Basic Research Office forums.

Labs/Teams: Maintains the Rebel Governance Network and collaborates on crowd-sourced initiatives like the Faculty Accommodations Database. Current projects investigate diaspora mobilization and environmental conflict adaptation strategies in civil war contexts.