Michael Rubin
Assistant Professor, Political Science & Human Rights
Michael Rubin is an assistant professor at UConn, holding a joint position between the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and the Department of Political Science.
Professor Rubin’s research investigates the causes, conduct, and consequences of civil wars and political violence, informing policy solutions to reduce the human suffering they generate. His book project and related research examine insurgent territorial control and governance in civil wars, highlighting the role that civilian communities play in influencing belligerents’ conduct. Other research explores the international politics shaping civil wars, particularly the implications of third-party states’ involvement. His research draws upon both global comparisons across conflicts and in-depth analysis of key cases, including the communist insurgency in the Philippines, the 1948 War in Mandate Palestine, Syria’s civil war, and the anti-Apartheid resistance in South Africa. He conducted fieldwork in the Philippines (2014-2015) and South Africa (2024).
His work has been published or is forthcoming in American Political Science Review, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Journal of Global Security Studies, and International Studies Review. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (Law and Social Sciences Program), The Institute for the Study of Human Rights, The Earth Institute, and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute.
Professor Rubin earned a PhD (2018), MPhil (2014), and MA (2012) in Political Science from Columbia University, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. He earned his B.A. (2010) from Emory University.
Prior to joining UConn, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Center for Peace and Security Studies (cPASS) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
