Richard Nielsen

Richard Nielsen

Associate Professor of Political Science

CV

Islam; terrorism; security studies; foreign aid; international law; international political economy; development; statistics.

Biography

Richard Nielsen is an Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT. He completed his PhD (Government) and AM (Statistics) at Harvard University, and holds a BA from Brigham Young University. His research focuses on the politics of religious authority in the Muslim world, with side interests in political violence, conspiracy theories and misinformation, human rights, economic development, and research methods. His first book, Deadly Clerics (Cambridge University Press), uses statistical text analysis and fieldwork in Cairo mosques to understand the radicalization of jihadi clerics in the Arab world. He is now writing a second book on how the Internet is changing the nature of Islamic authority, with a focus on gender. He is the developer of free software tools for Arabic text analysis, causal inference, and qualitative case selection. His research has appeared in The American Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, Political Analysis, and Sociological Methods and Research. At MIT, he is affiliated with the Security Studies Program, the Center for International Studies, and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. His work has been supported by the Carnegie Corporation, the National Science Foundation, the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Recent Publications

"Rewarding Human Rights? Selective Aid Sanctions against Repressive States," International Studies Quarterly (30 April 2013) pp.1-13

"Foreign Aid Shocks as a Cause of Violent Armed Conflict,” American Journal of Political Science, 55 (2): 219-232 (with Michael Findley, Zachary Davis, Tara Candland, and Daniel Nielson.)

Teaching

17.S919 Introduction to International Relations

News

A new approach to studying religion and politics

Peter Dizikes MIT News

Associate Professor Richard Nielsen is an MIT political scientist with an innovative research program: He studies clerics in the Islamic world, combining textual analysis, ethnographic insights, on-the-ground research in the Middle East, and a big-data approach to charting online tracts.

Baghdadi’s Martyrdom Bump

Santiago Segarra, Ali Jadbabaie, Richard Nielsen Foreign Policy

Killing the Islamic State leader will not kill his ideas.

Research on Religion Podcast: Richard Nielsen on Deadly Clerics

Research on Religion

http://www.researchonreligion.org/religion-politics/richard-nielsen-on-deadly-clericsPolitical rebellion and violence in the Middle East has recently been associated with religious belief and rhetoric, often spurred on by the writings and recordings of Muslim clerics. What motivates imams to advocate such tactics? Prof. Richard Nielsen, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, answers this question with reference to previous theories of revolution and an examination of the career paths of imams who advocate violent jihad. 

Richard Nielsen on Deadly Clerics

The Baylor Institute for Studies on Religion

Political rebellion and violence in the Middle East has recently been associated with religious belief and rhetoric, often spurred on by the writings and recordings of Muslim clerics.  What motivates imams to advocate such tactics? 

Why some Muslim clerics become jihadists

Peter Dizikes MIT News Office

What turns people into radical jihadist clerics? A new book by an MIT political scientist offers a new answer: thwarted career ambitions.

Nielsen, Stewart, & Acemoglu, awarded Carnegie fellowships

Peter Dizikes MIT News

MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and political scientists Richard Nielsen and Charles Stewart III have been named to the 2017 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows, a prestigious honor supporting research in the social sciences and humanities. The MIT trio is among 35 scholars and intellectuals receiving the fellowships, which are awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Each fellow receives up to $200,000 to support a research sabbatical.

Biography

Richard Nielsen is an Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT. He completed his PhD (Government) and AM (Statistics) at Harvard University, and holds a BA from Brigham Young University. His research focuses on the politics of religious authority in the Muslim world, with side interests in political violence, conspiracy theories and misinformation, human rights, economic development, and research methods. His first book, Deadly Clerics (Cambridge University Press), uses statistical text analysis and fieldwork in Cairo mosques to understand the radicalization of jihadi clerics in the Arab world. He is now writing a second book on how the Internet is changing the nature of Islamic authority, with a focus on gender. He is the developer of free software tools for Arabic text analysis, causal inference, and qualitative case selection. His research has appeared in The American Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, Political Analysis, and Sociological Methods and Research. At MIT, he is affiliated with the Security Studies Program, the Center for International Studies, and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. His work has been supported by the Carnegie Corporation, the National Science Foundation, the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Recent Publications

"Rewarding Human Rights? Selective Aid Sanctions against Repressive States," International Studies Quarterly (30 April 2013) pp.1-13

"Foreign Aid Shocks as a Cause of Violent Armed Conflict,” American Journal of Political Science, 55 (2): 219-232 (with Michael Findley, Zachary Davis, Tara Candland, and Daniel Nielson.)

Teaching

17.S919 Introduction to International Relations

News

A new approach to studying religion and politics

Peter Dizikes MIT News

Associate Professor Richard Nielsen is an MIT political scientist with an innovative research program: He studies clerics in the Islamic world, combining textual analysis, ethnographic insights, on-the-ground research in the Middle East, and a big-data approach to charting online tracts.

Baghdadi’s Martyrdom Bump

Santiago Segarra, Ali Jadbabaie, Richard Nielsen Foreign Policy

Killing the Islamic State leader will not kill his ideas.

Research on Religion Podcast: Richard Nielsen on Deadly Clerics

Research on Religion

http://www.researchonreligion.org/religion-politics/richard-nielsen-on-deadly-clericsPolitical rebellion and violence in the Middle East has recently been associated with religious belief and rhetoric, often spurred on by the writings and recordings of Muslim clerics. What motivates imams to advocate such tactics? Prof. Richard Nielsen, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, answers this question with reference to previous theories of revolution and an examination of the career paths of imams who advocate violent jihad. 

Richard Nielsen on Deadly Clerics

The Baylor Institute for Studies on Religion

Political rebellion and violence in the Middle East has recently been associated with religious belief and rhetoric, often spurred on by the writings and recordings of Muslim clerics.  What motivates imams to advocate such tactics? 

Why some Muslim clerics become jihadists

Peter Dizikes MIT News Office

What turns people into radical jihadist clerics? A new book by an MIT political scientist offers a new answer: thwarted career ambitions.

Nielsen, Stewart, & Acemoglu, awarded Carnegie fellowships

Peter Dizikes MIT News

MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and political scientists Richard Nielsen and Charles Stewart III have been named to the 2017 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows, a prestigious honor supporting research in the social sciences and humanities. The MIT trio is among 35 scholars and intellectuals receiving the fellowships, which are awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Each fellow receives up to $200,000 to support a research sabbatical.