Luke Condra

Associate Dean, Associate Professor

Associate Dean and Associate Professor Luke Condra researches the politics of violence in conflict-ridden, emerging democracies. His work studies how governments and insurgents use violence to achieve political objectives and what factors affect their decision-making. Condra's research has been published in the American Economic Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the British Journal of Political Science, and The Journal of Politics, among other journals.

Courses Taught

  • PIA 2021 - International Affairs
  • PIA 2463 - Order and Violence
  • PIA 2430 - Ethnic Politics
  • PIA 2328 - Ethics and National Security

    Education & Training

  • Ph.D. Political Science (Stanford University)
  • A.B. Political Science (Duke University)
Recent Publications
  • Wright, Austin L., Luke N. Condra, Jacob N. Shapiro, and Andrew C. Shaver. “Civilian Harm, Wartime Informing, and Counterinsurgent Operations.” 2025. Quarterly Journal of Political Science 20 (4): 513-535. 
  • Condra, Luke N. and Austin L. Wright. 2019. “Civilians, Control, and Collaboration during Civil Conflict.” International Studies Quarterly 63 (4): 897-907. Condra, Luke N. and Sera Linardi. 2019. “Casual Contact and Ethnic Bias: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan.” The Journal of Politics 81 (3): 1028-1042. 
  • Condra, Luke N., Michael Callen, Radha K. Iyengar, James D. Long, and Jacob N. Shapiro. 2019. “Damaging Democracy? Security Provision and Turnout in Afghan Elections.” Economics & Politics 31 (2): 163-193. 
  • Condra, Luke N., Mohammad Isaqzadeh, and Sera Linardi. 2019. “Clerics and Scriptures: Experimentally Disentangling the Influence of Religious Authority in Afghanistan.” British Journal of Political Science 49 (2): 401-419.
  • Condra, Luke N., James D. Long, Andrew C. Shaver, and Austin L. Wright. "The Logic of Insurgent Electoral Violence." American Economic Review, 108 (11), 3199-3231, 2018.
  • Condra, Luke N. and Jacob N. Shapiro. "Who Takes the Blame? The Strategic Effects of Collateral Damage." American Journal of Political Science 56, no. 1 (January 2012): 167-87. 
Research Interests
  • International security
  • Political violence
  • Research methods