معرفی
Muhammad Omar Afzaal serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Government in the Government and Legal Studies Department at Bowdoin College while completing his seventh year as a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Brown University. His academic profile centers on international relations, security studies, and comparative politics with specialized focus on South Asian security dynamics.
His educational trajectory includes a Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College (completed one year early), followed by dual graduate degrees from Brown University: a Master of Public Affairs and a Master of Arts in Political Science.
Dr. Afzaal's research investigates the critical nexus between territorial conflict, limited war frameworks, and civil-military relations, particularly within Pakistan's strategic context. His dissertation Dangerous Borders: Civil-Military Decision-Making Structures and Unintended Escalation employs mixed qualitative methodologies including Urdu/English archival research, elite interviews with senior Pakistani officials, process tracing, and content analysis to demonstrate how territorial contestation levels shape decision-making structures and escalation risks in the India-Pakistan rivalry. His forthcoming book chapter applies structural topic modeling to analyze Pakistan's strategic culture.
His scientific recognition includes:
- P. Terrence Hopmann Award for Excellence in Teaching (Fall 2020)
- USIP-Minerva Peace and Security Scholar Fellowship (2022/23)
- Graduate Research Fellowship from Watson Institute’s Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia (2022)
Dr. Afzaal has taught comprehensive coursework across international relations, security studies, foreign policy, comparative politics, and American politics. His research has received substantial funding from the Brown University Graduate School, Department of Political Science, and external fellowships. He has contributed to significant research initiatives for Harvard University, Oxford University, the United Nations University - Maastricht, and the World Bank, with particular expertise in Pakistan's civil-military dynamics, narcotics-security linkages from the Soviet-Afghan war, and environmental policy evaluation.
