Mara Revkin
@mararevkin.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Law & Political Science @Duke. Conflict, migration, peacebuilding, transitional justice & humanitarian/development aid. Nonresident @carnegiedcg.bsky.social. Rhymes w/ @jonpetkun.bsky.social. Web: https://law.duke.edu/fac/revkin
ICYMI in a very bad news week: On 9/9, Israel ordered a complete evacuation of Gaza City; aside from clear violations of international law, this powerful visual story @josh-h.bsky.social shows how residents have nowhere to go: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... See also: www.reuters.com/world/middle...
September 13, 2025 at 4:21 PM
ICYMI in a very bad news week: On 9/9, Israel ordered a complete evacuation of Gaza City; aside from clear violations of international law, this powerful visual story @josh-h.bsky.social shows how residents have nowhere to go: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... See also: www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Our key finding is that these effects persists even after conditioning on personal exposure to harm, suggesting that civilian attitudes toward combatants are driven not only by direct victimization (which is already well-established), but also by *how* and *why* combatants caused these harms. 6/7
July 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Our key finding is that these effects persists even after conditioning on personal exposure to harm, suggesting that civilian attitudes toward combatants are driven not only by direct victimization (which is already well-established), but also by *how* and *why* combatants caused these harms. 6/7
... to show that a "bundle" of changes in strategy, tactics, rules of engagement & composition of ground forces—which reflected less concern for protection of civilians in West Mosul—was associated with higher levels of destruction and more negative perceptions of the legitimacy of Iraqi forces. 5/7
July 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
... to show that a "bundle" of changes in strategy, tactics, rules of engagement & composition of ground forces—which reflected less concern for protection of civilians in West Mosul—was associated with higher levels of destruction and more negative perceptions of the legitimacy of Iraqi forces. 5/7
East Mosul would be taken first, followed by West Mosul. This decision shaped the pattern of violence that followed & its devastating effects on the civilian population. We use survey, interview, & satellite data collected through multiple rounds of careful field research between 2018 & 2023 ... 4/7
July 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
East Mosul would be taken first, followed by West Mosul. This decision shaped the pattern of violence that followed & its devastating effects on the civilian population. We use survey, interview, & satellite data collected through multiple rounds of careful field research between 2018 & 2023 ... 4/7
suffered much more civilian harm than East Mosul. Why? The battle plan developed by Iraqi forces & the U.S.-led Coalition to recapture Mosul after 3 years of ISIL’s harsh rule was constrained by a geographical feature: the Tigris River, which divides the city & necessitated a 2-phased approach: 3/7
July 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
suffered much more civilian harm than East Mosul. Why? The battle plan developed by Iraqi forces & the U.S.-led Coalition to recapture Mosul after 3 years of ISIL’s harsh rule was constrained by a geographical feature: the Tigris River, which divides the city & necessitated a 2-phased approach: 3/7
... described at the time as one of the most destructive since WWII (now tragically surpassed by Gaza). I was in Iraq for this research with @iom.int on displacement (iraq.iom.int/sites/g/file...) & everyone working on the humanitarian response was aware of a clear pattern: West Mosul had ... 2/7
July 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
... described at the time as one of the most destructive since WWII (now tragically surpassed by Gaza). I was in Iraq for this research with @iom.int on displacement (iraq.iom.int/sites/g/file...) & everyone working on the humanitarian response was aware of a clear pattern: West Mosul had ... 2/7
Excited to share a new open-access article with @benckrick.bsky.social @jonpetkun.bsky.social in @iojournal.bsky.social, "Civilian Harm & Military Legitimacy" www.cambridge.org/core/journal.... This project started in 2018 Mosul, Iraq’s 2nd largest city, in the aftermath of a 9-month battle … 1/7
July 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Excited to share a new open-access article with @benckrick.bsky.social @jonpetkun.bsky.social in @iojournal.bsky.social, "Civilian Harm & Military Legitimacy" www.cambridge.org/core/journal.... This project started in 2018 Mosul, Iraq’s 2nd largest city, in the aftermath of a 9-month battle … 1/7
Grateful for the opportunity to write with @oonahathaway.bsky.social & @azmatzahra.bsky.social + work with @yalelawjournal.bsky.social on "The Dangerous Rise of 'Dual-Use' Objects in War": www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-.... More on data & methods here: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...
June 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Grateful for the opportunity to write with @oonahathaway.bsky.social & @azmatzahra.bsky.social + work with @yalelawjournal.bsky.social on "The Dangerous Rise of 'Dual-Use' Objects in War": www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-.... More on data & methods here: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...
Must-read special issue in Dædalus (open-access!) on research ethics in the Middle East & North Africa by an extraordinary group of scholars covering threats to academic freedom, the politics & economics of knowledge production, disinformation, AI & much more: direct.mit.edu/daed/article....
May 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Must-read special issue in Dædalus (open-access!) on research ethics in the Middle East & North Africa by an extraordinary group of scholars covering threats to academic freedom, the politics & economics of knowledge production, disinformation, AI & much more: direct.mit.edu/daed/article....
Grateful to the editors & reviewers @iojournal.bsky.social for a very constructive review process and conditional acceptance of "Civilian Harm & Military Legitimacy in War: Evidence from the Battle of Mosul in Iraq" with @benckrick.bsky.social @jonpetkun.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 12, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Grateful to the editors & reviewers @iojournal.bsky.social for a very constructive review process and conditional acceptance of "Civilian Harm & Military Legitimacy in War: Evidence from the Battle of Mosul in Iraq" with @benckrick.bsky.social @jonpetkun.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Very excited for this discussion on prospects for peace & justice in post-Assad Syria at Duke on Feb. 11 with 3 of my favorite experts on human rights, humanitarian aid, civil society & justice, @rbkhoury.bsky.social @imad-alhajj21.bsky.social & Sara Kayyali, co-moderated with Adam Mestyan:
February 4, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Very excited for this discussion on prospects for peace & justice in post-Assad Syria at Duke on Feb. 11 with 3 of my favorite experts on human rights, humanitarian aid, civil society & justice, @rbkhoury.bsky.social @imad-alhajj21.bsky.social & Sara Kayyali, co-moderated with Adam Mestyan:
As noted by @laurenleharper.bsky.social, the removal of these datasets from data.gov may violate the Open Government Data Act and other laws: bsky.app/profile/laur...
January 31, 2025 at 11:55 PM
As noted by @laurenleharper.bsky.social, the removal of these datasets from data.gov may violate the Open Government Data Act and other laws: bsky.app/profile/laur...
Informative reporting by @jasonkoebler.bsky.social on efforts by archivists to preserve datasets that are rapidly disappearing from data.gov; 2,000+ removed since Jan. 21. See @harvardlil.bsky.social's growing collection of 305K+ government datasets: lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2025/01...
January 31, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Informative reporting by @jasonkoebler.bsky.social on efforts by archivists to preserve datasets that are rapidly disappearing from data.gov; 2,000+ removed since Jan. 21. See @harvardlil.bsky.social's growing collection of 305K+ government datasets: lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2025/01...
Ominous heads-up from Duke anticipating likely effects of Executive Orders on our research operations:
January 24, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Ominous heads-up from Duke anticipating likely effects of Executive Orders on our research operations:
ICYMI: Excellent and timely analysis of patterns of nonviolent civil organizing in Syria by @rbkhoury.bsky.social & @aasiegel.bsky.social for @goodauth.bsky.social summarizing their important new article in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... @apsamena.bsky.social
January 11, 2025 at 12:42 AM
ICYMI: Excellent and timely analysis of patterns of nonviolent civil organizing in Syria by @rbkhoury.bsky.social & @aasiegel.bsky.social for @goodauth.bsky.social summarizing their important new article in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... @apsamena.bsky.social
New report by me, @benckrick.bsky.social & Dr. Raed al-Dulaimi for UNIDIR on attitudes toward Iraqis with perceived ties to ISIL based on original survey data and interviews. We find that stigmatization persists 8 years after ISIL's territorial defeat, even of children: unidir.org/publication/...
January 8, 2025 at 11:54 PM
New report by me, @benckrick.bsky.social & Dr. Raed al-Dulaimi for UNIDIR on attitudes toward Iraqis with perceived ties to ISIL based on original survey data and interviews. We find that stigmatization persists 8 years after ISIL's territorial defeat, even of children: unidir.org/publication/...
Thanks @ayesharascoe.bsky.social @npr.org for inviting me to discuss ISIS' evolution since its territorial defeat: www.npr.org/2025/01/05/n.... More on ISIS' theory of the "gray zone" & how it exploits Islamophobic & anti-immigrant policies in my 2016 @foreignaffairs.com article tinyurl.com/4y3may85
January 6, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Thanks @ayesharascoe.bsky.social @npr.org for inviting me to discuss ISIS' evolution since its territorial defeat: www.npr.org/2025/01/05/n.... More on ISIS' theory of the "gray zone" & how it exploits Islamophobic & anti-immigrant policies in my 2016 @foreignaffairs.com article tinyurl.com/4y3may85
Great job opportunity for a data scientist interested in empirical legal scholarship @dukelaw.bsky.social: careers.duke.edu/job/Durham-D...
January 3, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Great job opportunity for a data scientist interested in empirical legal scholarship @dukelaw.bsky.social: careers.duke.edu/job/Durham-D...
Important new book by @alichtenheld.bsky.social draws on field research in Uganda & Syria and an original dataset of 166 civil wars to show how armed groups use strategic displacement of civilians to "sort" rather than eliminate, inferring "guilt by location": www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...
December 20, 2024 at 5:01 PM
Important new book by @alichtenheld.bsky.social draws on field research in Uganda & Syria and an original dataset of 166 civil wars to show how armed groups use strategic displacement of civilians to "sort" rather than eliminate, inferring "guilt by location": www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...
Old but informative 2021 PBS interview with HTS leader al-Jolani in which he invited human rights organizations to visit the group's prisons in response to HRW's reporting on torture, and called on the U.S. to remove its "unfair" designation as a terrorist organization: www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...
December 7, 2024 at 4:18 PM
Old but informative 2021 PBS interview with HTS leader al-Jolani in which he invited human rights organizations to visit the group's prisons in response to HRW's reporting on torture, and called on the U.S. to remove its "unfair" designation as a terrorist organization: www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...
Welcome to Bluesky @carnegiedcg.bsky.social! Follow the Democracy, Conflict & Governance Program @carnegieendow.bsky.social for research & analysis by @milanv.bsky.social @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social @stevenfeldstein.bsky.social @saskiabr.bsky.social, me & more carnegieendowment.org/programs/dem...
November 25, 2024 at 5:26 PM
Welcome to Bluesky @carnegiedcg.bsky.social! Follow the Democracy, Conflict & Governance Program @carnegieendow.bsky.social for research & analysis by @milanv.bsky.social @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social @stevenfeldstein.bsky.social @saskiabr.bsky.social, me & more carnegieendowment.org/programs/dem...
Really looking forward to this timely conversation with UN-OCHA Senior Legal Officer Nathalie Weizmann & Prof. @eswein.bsky.social on humanitarian aid & protection of civilians on Nov. 22 @dukelaw.bsky.social: law.duke.edu/events/discu.... In-person, please RSVP: duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
November 19, 2024 at 5:38 PM
Really looking forward to this timely conversation with UN-OCHA Senior Legal Officer Nathalie Weizmann & Prof. @eswein.bsky.social on humanitarian aid & protection of civilians on Nov. 22 @dukelaw.bsky.social: law.duke.edu/events/discu.... In-person, please RSVP: duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Looking forward to presenting a revised draft of my working paper with @benckrick.bsky.social & @jonpetkun.bsky.social, "Civilian Harm and Military Legitimacy in War: Evidence from the Battle of Mosul in Iraq," at the @asilorg.bsky.social Mid-Year Meeting: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
November 15, 2024 at 9:57 PM
Looking forward to presenting a revised draft of my working paper with @benckrick.bsky.social & @jonpetkun.bsky.social, "Civilian Harm and Military Legitimacy in War: Evidence from the Battle of Mosul in Iraq," at the @asilorg.bsky.social Mid-Year Meeting: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
New policy brief on the risk of mass atrocities in South Sudan from USHMM's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide: vault.ushmm.org/adaptivemedi...
November 14, 2024 at 7:22 PM
New policy brief on the risk of mass atrocities in South Sudan from USHMM's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide: vault.ushmm.org/adaptivemedi...
Thanks @katharinefortin.bsky.social @weigand.bsky.social & @justin-schon.bsky.social for including me in this discussion of civilian agency, decision-making, and displacement dynamics during armed conflict for the Beyond Compliance Consortium: beyond-compliance-consortium.org/s1-ep5-decis...
November 11, 2024 at 10:44 PM
Thanks @katharinefortin.bsky.social @weigand.bsky.social & @justin-schon.bsky.social for including me in this discussion of civilian agency, decision-making, and displacement dynamics during armed conflict for the Beyond Compliance Consortium: beyond-compliance-consortium.org/s1-ep5-decis...