Maria Stephan

Maria J. Stephan is a Senior PolicyFellow at the United States Instituteof Peace and a Nonresident SeniorFellow at the Atlantic Council, whereshe focuses on the dynamics of civilresistance and democratic development.Previously, she served in the USDepartment of State's Bureau ofConfl ict and Stabilization Operations.She is the editor of Civilian Jihad:Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization,and Governance in the Middle East(2009) and the co-author of Why CivilResistance Works: The Strategic Logic ofNonviolent Confl ict (2011); the latterwas named the best book publishedin political science by the AmericanPolitical Science Association. She holdsa MA and PhD from the FletcherSchool of Law and Diplomacy anda BA from Boston College.