James Fearon

James Fearon

Theodore and Frances Geballe Professor, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University

James Fearon is Theodore and Frances Geballe Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences, a professor of Political Science, and Senior Fellow in the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (elected 2012) and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 2002). Fearon’s research interests include civil and interstate war, ethnic conflict, the politics of economic development, and democratic accountability.

Recent work by James Fearon

  • violence

    Interpersonal violence costs the world more than war

    A new book argues that interpersonal violence – homicide, intimate partner violence, and child abuse – costs the world far more than war, yet receives a fraction of the policy attention. Drawing on victimisation surveys and value-of-statistical-life estimates, the authors put the annual cost of interpersonal violence at roughly $30 trillion, compared with $3.7 trillion for collective violence.

    Institutions & Political Economy
    James Fearon

    Published 01.07.26