Scott Wolford

Scott Wolford is a Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin and Co-Director of the Correlates of War Project. He received a Ph.D. in political science from Emory University (2008) and a B.A. from Transylvania University (2002). Prior to UT Austin, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Colorado (2008-2011).

• Education
  • Ph.D., Emory University (2008)
  • B.A., Transylvania University (2002)
• Affiliations
  • University of Texas at Austin (2011-present)
  • University of Colorado (2008-2011)
  • Co-Director, Correlates of War Project
  • Editor, Conflict Management and Peace Science

His research focuses on international conflict, military coalitions, game theory applications to security studies, and the interplay between leadership turnover and commitment problems in international relations. He has explored these themes through historical case studies of World War I, the Chinese Civil War, and Japan's wartime decisions, emphasizing how states navigate information asymmetries and credibility challenges.

Wolford's publications appear in top journals including American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Security Studies. His 2015 book The Politics of Military Coalitions and 2019 textbook The Politics of the First World War (Cambridge University Press) integrate formal modeling with historical analysis to explain war initiation, coalition dynamics, and peace settlement failures.

• Key Research Themes
  • Military coalition formation and stability
  • Commitment and information problems in war
  • Leadership turnover effects
  • Power transition dynamics
  • Game theory in historical conflict analysis
  • Preventive repression in resource conflicts