Alec Worsnop

Alec Worsnop is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park and a research fellow at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM). His research looks into sub-state conflict, with a particular focus on the internal dynamics of non-state armed actors. Ongoing projects examine insurgent groups’ combat capability and training programs, their recruitment strategies to attract high-skilled fighters, and their civil-military relations.

His work on insurgent military organization has appeared in Security Studies and Political Science Research and Methods and has been supported by organizations including the Modern War Institute at West Point, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and the Smith Richardson Foundation.

He received his PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an affiliate of the security studies program. Previously, he worked for a USAID implementing partner, developing and managing assistance programs for Afghanistan and the Middle East.