Richard Nielsen
Associate Professor of Political Science
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
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 |