Person
Robert Pape Office: Pick Hall 418A Phone: 773 834 0770 Email Interests:
  • International relations theory
  • National security affairs
  • Causes of suicide terrorism
  • Politics of unipolarity

Robert A. Pape is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs. His publications include Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It (Chicago 2010) (with James Feldman); Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (Random House 2005); Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War (Cornell 1996), "Why Economic Sanctions Do Not Work," International Security (1997), "The Determinants of International Moral Action," International Organization (1999); "The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism," American Political Science Review (2003); and "Soft Balancing against the United States," International Security (2005). His commentary on international security policy has appeared in The New York TimesWashington PostNew RepublicBoston GlobeLos Angeles Times, and Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, as well as on NightlineABC NewsCBS NewsCNNFox News, and National Public Radio. Before coming to Chicago in 1999, he taught international relations at Dartmouth College for five years and air power strategy for the USAF's School of Advanced Airpower Studies for three years. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1988 and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982. His current work focuses on the causes of suicide terrorism and the politics of unipolarity. He is the director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats.

Recent Research / Recent Publications

The Political Geography of the January 6 Insurrectionists

 "The Political Geography of the January 6 Insurrectionists," with Kyle Larson and Keven Ruby, PS:  Political Science and Politics, Vol. 57, Issue 2 (April 2024): 1-11.

"Days of Action or Restraint? How the Islamic Calendar Impacts Violence"

"Days of Action or Restraint? How the Islamic Calendar Impacts Violence," with Michael Reese and Keven Ruby, American Political Science Review 111, No. 3 (2017): 439-59.

"When Duty Calls: A Pragmatic Standard for Humanitarian Intervention" 

"When Duty Calls: A Pragmatic Standard for Humanitarian Intervention," International Security 37, No. 1 (Summer 2012): 41-80. 

Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It

Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It (University of Chicago Press, 2010).

Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism

Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism  (Random House, 2005).

"Soft Balancing Against the United States"

"Soft Balancing Against the United States," International Security 30, No. 1 (Summer 2005): 7-45.

Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War

Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War (Cornell University Press, 1996).