Ahsan Butt is an Assistant Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and a nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center. His research focuses on nationalism, security, international order, and South Asia. Butt completed his PhD in Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he wrote his dissertation on secessionist conflict. This research led to the publication of his first book, Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy Against Separatists (Cornell University Press, 2017). In addition to his book, his research has appeared in journals such as Conflict, Security, and Development; International Organization; Journal of Global Security Studies; and Politics and Religion. He has been a postdoctoral Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, a predoctoral International Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, a predoctoral Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace, and a predoctoral Mellon Foundation Fellow at the University of Chicago. He is currently writing a book on nationalism and history education in schools.
