Alex Debs

Bio

Alexandre Debs is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Political Science at Yale University, where he is also the Faculty Director of the Nuclear Security Program in International Security Studies at the Jackson School of Global Affairs.

Alexandre’s research focuses on the causes of war, nuclear proliferation, and democratization. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in top political science and international relations journals, such as the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, International Organization, and International Security. He is the author of the book “Nuclear Politics: The Strategic Causes of Proliferation” (with Nuno Monteiro), published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. His Google Scholar page is here.

Alexandre received a Ph.D. degree in Economics from M.I.T., an M.Phil. in Economic and Social History from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and a B.Sc. in Economics and Mathematics from Universite de Montreal.

• “Mutual Optimism and War, and the Strategic Tensions of the July Crisis,” American Journal of Political Science.  Vol. 66, No. 2 (2022), pp. 271-284.
• “An Economic Theory of War” (with Nuno P. Monteiro), Journal of Politics, Vol 82, No. 1 (2020), pp. 255-268.
• “General Nuclear Compellence: The State, Allies, and Adversaries” (with Nicholas D. Anderson and Nuno P. Monteiro), Strategic Studies Quarterly, Vol. 13, no. 3 (2019), pp. 93-121.
• Nuclear Politics: The Strategic Causes of Proliferation (with Nuno P. Monteiro), Cambridge Studies in International Relations, vol. 142 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Webpage at CUP.
• “Conflict and Cooperation on Nuclear Nonproliferation” (with Nuno P. Monteiro), Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 20 (2017), pp. 331-349.
• “Circumstances, Domestic Audiences, and Reputational Incentives in International Crisis Bargaining” (with Jessica C. Weiss), Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 60, No. 3 (2016), pp. 403-433.
• “Living by the Sword and Dying by the Sword? Leadership Transitions In and Out of Dictatorships,” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 1 (2016), pp. 73-84.
• “The Strategic Logic of Nuclear Proliferation” (with Nuno P. Monteiro), International Security, Vol. 39, No. 2 (2014), pp. 7-51. Published article here. Earlier (ungated) version at SSRN here.
• “Known Unknowns: Power Shifts, Uncertainty, and War” (with Nuno P. Monteiro), International Organization, Vol. 68, No. 1 (2014), pp. 1-31.
• “Regime Type, the Fate of Leaders, and War” (with H.E. Goemans), American Political Science Review, Vol. 104, No. 3 (2010), pp. 430-445.
• “Inequality under Democracy: Explaining the Left Decade in Latin America” (with Gretchen Helmke), Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Vol. 5, No. 3 (2010), pp. 209-241.
• “Economic Theories of Dictatorship,” The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2010), pp. 11-17. Published article here.

Video/Audio

• 2017-10-04 - MacMillan Report - Nuclear Politics: The Strategic Causes of Proliferation
• 2010-01-27 - MacMillan Report - Leadership Transitions in and Out of Dictatorships

Interests

• causes of war
• nuclear proliferation
• democratization

Google Scholar Page

Personal Website

Office Hours