I am delighted to report that Steve Saideman, Robert Kelly and Megan MacKenzie will be joining the ranks of permanent Duck contributors as of today.

This leaves room for new guest bloggers: Stacie Goddard, Johannes Urpelainen and Jillian Schwedler.

Stacie Goddard joins us from Wellesley College where she teaches international conflict, specializing in diplomacy, security studies, weapons and war and network politics. She is the author of Indivisible Territory and the Politics of Legitimacy: Jerusalem and Northern Ireland. Stacie is also a member of the International Studies Association‘s Governing Council, an avid backpacker, and a super-mom.

Johannes Urpelainen is Assistant Professor at Columbia University. His research focuses on international cooperation and institutions, especially in the field of global environmental governance. He is completing a book on international institutions and economic reform, and has published extensively in journals such as Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Theory and European Journal of International Relations. He has consulted for the Government of Finland and blogs at ClimatePolitics.

Jillian Schwedler is in transition from University of Massachusetts-Amherst to join the political science faculty at Hunter College at City University of New York. Jillian is a comparative Middle East specialist with research interests in protest and policing in Jordan, identity politics, contentious politics, and state repression. She is the author of Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen -and is currently completing a new book manuscript tentatively titled “Protesting Jordan: Law, Space, Dissent.” In addition to teaching, writing, rock-climbing and raising fabulous twin boys, Jillian spends time galavanting around Middle Eastern revolutions, appearing on Bloggingheads.tv and writing for the Arab Press.

Welcome all!