Christopher P. Willis

Hello! I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University. I was also the inaugural Textor Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of International Relations at Lehigh University for the 2023-2024 academic year.  I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from The Pennsylvania State University in August of 2023. My primary fields of research are International Relations and Comparative Politics. I was previously educated at Central Michigan University, where I received an M.A. in Political Science (2016) and B.S. in Political Science and Religion (2014).

My primary research interests are in the areas of conflict and political violence with special emphasis on civilian victimization and sexual violence by armed groups (state-security forces and non-state rebel and militia groups). My dissertation examines various influences that constrain the perpetration of sexual violence. I examine how the structure of regime institutions and gender influence sexual violence by state-security forces, and how engagement in international relations influences the likelihood of rebel groups to perpetrate sexual violence. 

My research has appeared in International Studies Quarterly, receiving the Raymond E. Lombra and Roberta Lombra Outstanding Graduate Research Award in the College of Liberal Arts at Penn State.

I have previously held positions as the Program for Empirical International Relations (PEIR) Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, as a Research Assistant for the During Conflict Justice Project, as the Editorial Assistant for Public Opinion Quarterly, and as the Graduate Student Advisor for Political Science Horizons at Penn State, a mentorship program for first-year undergraduate students that seeks to serve historically underrepresented groups by helping them lay the foundation for a strong academic and professional career at Penn State.

You can contact me at willi1cp@gmail.com