Terrence Lyons received his doctorate in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies and served as a Fellow associated with the Conflict Resolution in Africa project at the Brookings Institution and as Senior Research and Program Leader for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo.

Lyons’s research has focused on the relationships between protracted civil wars and processes of political development and sustainable peace, with a particular focus on Africa and on policy issues. Among Lyons’s publications are: Demilitarizing Politics: Elections on the Uncertain Road to Peace (Lynne Rienner, 2005), Voting for Peace: Postconflict Elections in Liberia (Brookings Institution, 1999), Sovereignty as Responsibility: Conflict Management in Africa (co-written with Francis M. Deng, Sadikiel Kimaro, Donald Rothchild, and I. William Zartman) (Brookings Institution, 1996), and Somalia: State Collapse, Multilateral Intervention, and Strategies for Political Reconstruction (co-written with Ahmed Samatar) (Brookings Institution, 1995). He has also co-edited two books, several working papers, and published in a range of journals and policy oriented publications.

Since coming to ICAR in 1999, Lyons has taught a range of courses on conflict analysis, theories of conflict, and seminars on civil wars. Lyons has been a faculty advisor to the ICAR Africa Working Group and currently serves as the Doctoral Program Coordinator.

Lyons has participated in talks to resolve conflicts in Ethiopia and served as Senior Program Advisor to the Carter Center’s project on postconflict elections in Liberia (1997) and Ethiopia (2005). He has served as an international election observer in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Bangladesh, Benin, and Liberia. He has worked as a consultant for the United States Agency for International Development and the World Bank on issues relating to democracy and conflict.

Graduate Courses

“Introduction to Conflict Analysis ” (CONF 501 & 801)

“Theories of Social Harmony and Cooperation ” (CONF 701)

“Theories of Conflict and Conflict Resolution” (CONF 601)

“Conflict in Development” (CONF 732)

“War Termination” (CONF 743)

“Political Economy of Civil War” (CONF 695)

“PhD Proposal Writing Seminar” (CONF 998)

Selected Publications

Demilitarizing Politics: Elections on the Uncertain Road to Peace. Boulder , Colo. : Lynne Rienner, 2005.

 Voting for Peace: Postconflict Elections in Liberia. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution, 1999.

Sovereignty as Responsibility: Conflict Management in Africa. Co-written with Francis M. Deng, Sadikiel Kimaro, Donald Rothchild, and I. William Zartman. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1996.

Somalia: State Collapse, Multilateral Intervention, and Strategies for Political Reconstruction. Co-written with Ahmed Samatar. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1995.

Demilitarizing Politics: Elections on the Uncertain Road to Peace

Voting for Peace: Postconflict Elections in Liberia

Sovereignty as Responsibility: Conflict Management in Africa

Somalia: State Collapse, Multilateral Intervention, and Strategies for Political Reconstruction