About the author(s):
Promoting information sharing and community building between individuals and organisations working on issues related to armed groups and international law. Providing updates on news stories and publicize academic journal articles and seminars, talks and conferences on issues related to armed groups.
What influences civilians’ decision to stay or leave in times of armed conflict? In this episode of Beyond Compliance: In Conversation, Katharine and Florian talk to Mara Revkin and Justin Schon about their research on civilian decision-making, access to information and flight in Syria and Iraq. They discuss the concept of civilian agency and talk about the challenges of conducting research straddling multiple disciplines.

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Cited documents:
Revkin, M. Competitive Governance and Displacement Decisions Under Rebel Rule: Evidence from the Islamic State in Iraq, 65 The Journal of Conflict Resolution 46-80 (2021).
Revkin, M. When Terrorists Govern: Protecting Civilians in Conflicts with State-Building Armed Groups, 9 Harvard National Security Journal 100–144 (2018).
Schon, J. 2020. Surviving the War in Syria: Survival Strategies in a Time of Conflict. Cambridge University Press.
Guest Bios:
Dr. Mara Revkin is an Associate Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke University, where her research focuses on armed conflict, peacebuilding, transitional justice, migration, and security sector reform with a regional focus on the Middle East and Africa. She is also a nonresident scholar with the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr. Revkin holds a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in political science from Yale University, where her dissertation examined the Islamic State’s governance of civilians in Iraq and Syria. In addition to her academic research, she has worked with and advised United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations in Iraq, Syria, and South Sudan on the design of evidence-based programs and policies that aim to strengthen rule of law and the protection of human rights, support peaceful reconciliation after conflict, and mitigate the root causes of political violence.
Her work has been published in the Journal of Politics, the American Journal of Political Science, the American Journal of Comparative Law, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the Journal of Global Security Studies, World Development, and The Yale Law Journal, among others.
Dr. Justin Schon is a Statistician in the Migration Analysis Center within the Office of Homeland Security Statistics at the Department of Homeland Security, where his work focuses on modelling unauthorized migration into the United States. Prior to joining the federal government, his research focused on migration, armed conflict, and links with development, climate change, and public health, with a regional focus on the Middle East and Africa. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Indiana University, where his dissertation examined civilian survival strategies with a focus on Syria and Somalia. He has field research experience in Turkey, Jordan, Kenya, and Malawi.
His work has been published as a book with Cambridge University Press and in 20 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Journal of Peace Research, Environmental Research Letters, Political Geography, and Perspectives on Politics.