Jessica Trisko Darden, Ph.D.
triskodardj@vcu.edu
Associate Professor
Virginia Commonwealth University
Year of PhD: 2013
Country: United States (Virginia)
About Me:
Jessica Trisko Darden is a tenured Associate Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. She was previously an Assistant Professor at American University's School of International Service. Dr. Trisko Darden has been a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a Visiting Scholar with Yale University's Program on Order, Conflict and Violence. Dr. Trisko Darden's research focuses on political violence and human security, with an emphasis on the political economy of violence and women as violent political actors. She is the author of "Aiding and Abetting: U.S. Foreign Assistance and State Violence" (Stanford, 2020) and co-author of "Insurgent Women: Female Combatants in Civil Wars" (Georgetown, 2019) and "Women as War Criminals: Gender, Agency, and Justice" (Stanford, 2020). Dr. Trisko Darden has contributed op-eds and commentary on international politics and conflict to The Baltimore Sun, The Conversation, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Newsweek, US News and World Report and The Washington Post. She been interviewed by BBC World Service, CNN, The Globe and Mail, The Today Show, and The Wall Street Journal. She's been featured on Cato's Power Problems podcast and AEI's Banter podcast. You can listen to her latest NPR On Point interview about what to do with the women and children of the Islamic State. Dr. Trisko Darden has expertise in: U.S. foreign aid; development and security; human rights; Asia (particularly Southeast Asia and Central Asia); and gender issues and security.
Research Interests
Foreign Aid
Human Rights
Political Violence
Conflict Processes & War
Countering Violent Extremism
Foreign Assistance
Gender And Terrorism
Terrorism And Insurgency
Gender And War
War Crimes
Countries of Interest
Philippines
Indonesia
Kosovo
Ukraine
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Afghanistan
Publications:
Journal Articles:
This article examines the role of gender in the designation of individuals as civilians and as combatants in the Ukraine conflict (2014–2022). In particular, I explore how gendered decisions by the state have created a conceptual gray zone regarding the combatant status of women through an analysis of three key Ukrainian government policy decisions: the February 2015 military mobilization of women, the December 2021 requirement that professional women register for conscription, and the February 2022 declaration of martial law. I demonstrate that while the Ukrainian state seeks to benefit operationally from women in combatant roles, the need for additional (wo)manpower has come into conflict with gender norms that position women as civilians, even in the context of war. The state's gender ideology simultaneously denies men the status of civilians despite their greater likelihood of being targeted by Russian forces. These gendered policy decisions have forced combatant status on men while making most women's combatant status voluntary.
Since the fall of Islamic State’s so-called caliphate in March 2019, the United States and other international actors have repeatedly urged states to repatriate their citizens. Analyses of this issue too often focus on citizens of Western countries despite the fact that they constitute only a small fraction of the group’s members and affiliates. Focusing on Middle East and North African (MENA) countries, we contend that citizenship law and family law play a central role in determining an individual’s prospects for repatriation by forming the basis of a state’s articulation of who belongs to the nation and who the state is responsible for. We identify important sub-regional patterns that shape the repatriation of Islamic State affiliates through the differential treatment of women in MENA citizenship and nationality law and family law. In addition, we find that the distinction between custodian and guardian in MENA family law provides a useful basis for the related challenge of reintegrating female-headed family units as well as orphaned children.
Individuals formerly involved in armed groups are positioned in the victim–perpetrator binary by legal systems and societies. Media participates in this process and influences the relationship between law and society by reproducing or challenging legal and social designations. We assess the relationship between the International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecution of Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier in Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and media representations of Ongwen. We conduct a content analysis of 779 Ugandan, African, and international newspapers’ English-language articles published between January 2005 and October 2022. We find that media coverage focuses on Ongwen's adult roles in the group, including as an LRA leader, largely reproducing the ICC's portrayal of the accused. A minority of articles acknowledge a more complex status and increase in frequency once Ongwen's ICC trial is underway. An important faction challenges the ICC's narrative, with non-Africa-based media presenting a more complex depiction of Ongwen.
Women war criminals go unnoticed because their participation in exceptional wartime violence challenges deeply held assumptions about war and about women. Despite their participation in conflicts around the world, women have historically been enshrined as innocent civilians in both policy and the popular imagination. This tendency has been reinforced by the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which states that women and children are the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict. By grouping women with children — boys and girls under the age of 18 who are generally protected from prosecution for war-related crimes under international law — such statements, though undoubtedly true, neglect the fact that women have played key roles in perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity. Evidence of women’s war crimes can be seen in the Holocaust, the wars in former Yugoslavia, and the Rwandan genocide, as well as more recent episodes of heinous violence connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Few of these women have been brought to justice.
What factors contributed to the centralization of colonial rule over time? I argue that internal and external threats to the control of territories and populations can lead to the adoption of centralized state institutions, but where institutions already exist centralization may take the form of incremental institutional adaptation rather than wholesale shifts to direct rule. British perceptions of the threat posed by China-driven mobilization amongst overseas Chinese (华侨, huaqiao) evolved over the course of five decades from an external one based on developments in mainland China to an internal threat to British colonial holdings. In response, British colonial education policy shifted from indirect administration of Chinese Schools to more direct methods of control as a way of mitigating this threat. Evidence from the colonies of Malaya, Sarawak, and Singapore demonstrates that the timing and success of changes in British colonial education policy were influenced by local conditions, including the relative size of local Chinese populations and the strength of organized opposition to British reforms. Both international and domestic security conditions interacted to shape British efforts to control Chinese minorities in colonial Southeast Asia.
Books Written:
Women war criminals are far more common than we think. From the Holocaust to ethnic cleansing in the Balkans to the Rwandan genocide, women have perpetrated heinous crimes. Few have been punished. These women go unnoticed because their very existence challenges our assumptions about war and about women. Biases about women as peaceful and innocent prevent us from "seeing" women as war criminals—and prevent postconflict justice systems from assigning women blame. Women as War Criminals argues that women are just as capable as men of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. In addition to unsettling assumptions about women as agents of peace and reconciliation, the book highlights the gendered dynamics of law, and demonstrates that women are adept at using gender instrumentally to fight for better conditions and reduced sentences when war ends. The book presents the legal cases of four women: the President (Biljana Plavšić), the Minister (Pauline Nyiramasuhuko), the Soldier (Lynndie England), and the Student (Hoda Muthana). Each woman's complex identity influenced her treatment by legal systems and her ability to mount a gendered defense before the court. Justice, as Steflja and Trisko Darden show, is not blind to gender.
The United States is the world's leading foreign aid donor. Yet there has been little inquiry into how such assistance affects the politics and societies of recipient nations. Drawing on four decades of data on U.S. economic and military aid, Aiding and Abetting explores whether foreign aid does more harm than good. Jessica Trisko Darden challenges long-standing ideas about aid and its consequences, and highlights key patterns in the relationship between assistance and violence. She persuasively demonstrates that many of the foreign aid policy challenges the U.S. faced in the Cold War era, such as the propping up of dictators friendly to U.S. interests, remain salient today. Historical case studies of Indonesia, El Salvador, and South Korea illustrate how aid can uphold human freedoms or propagate human rights abuses. Aiding and Abetting encourages both advocates and critics of foreign assistance to reconsider its political and social consequences by focusing international aid efforts on the expansion of human freedom.
Why do women go to war? Despite the reality that female combatants exist the world over, we still know relatively little about who these women are, what motivates them to take up arms, how they are utilized by armed groups, and what happens to them when war ends. This book uses three case studies to explore variation in women's participation in nonstate armed groups in a range of contemporary political and social contexts: the civil war in Ukraine, the conflicts involving Kurdish groups in the Middle East, and the civil war in Colombia. In particular, the authors examine three important aspects of women's participation in armed groups: mobilization, participation in combat, and conflict cessation. In doing so, they shed light on women's pathways into and out of nonstate armed groups. They also address the implications of women's participation in these conflicts for policy, including postconflict programming. This is an accessible and timely work that will be a useful introduction to another side of contemporary conflict.
Other:
As the toll of the Israel-Hamas war continues to mount, Israeli military casualties are shedding new light on a topic that rarely gets international media attention – Israel’s ethnic diversity.
Political scientist Jessica Trisko Darden, author of “Aiding and Abetting: U.S. Foreign Assistance and State Violence,” explains how recent efforts by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to hold up aid to Ukraine reflects the perception that the U.S. is spending too much money on Ukraine at the expense of other domestic priorities, such as increased security at the U.S. southern border.
The U.S. government has condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine and vowed to make sure Russia faces consequences for its attack. Political scientist Jessica Trisko Darden, author of “Aiding and Abetting: U.S. Foreign Assistance and State Violence,” explains how U.S. assistance to Ukraine is rapidly evolving and what its potential consequences could be.
Key Points US counterterrorism policy must draw on all available tools to succeed. This includes combining security, development, and humanitarian assistance when necessary to target environments that enable violent extremism to flourish. US foreign development assistance can effectively support counterterrorism efforts when centered on four pillars: (1) prioritizing local physical security, (2) responding to humanitarian need, (3) improving governance, and (4) targeting and tailoring programming to local contexts. A refined development approach to counterterrorism should more effectively target at-risk populations, address local governance concerns, and shape economic conditions in ways that support America’s counterterrorism goals.
Key Points -Young people serve as a vital source of support for terrorist groups. Extensive youth participation creates an intergenerational terrorism problem and lays the foundation for future conflicts. -Youth end up in terrorist groups through forced and voluntary recruitment. They perform a range of roles that vary according to age and gender, with girls and young women often being subject to gendered social roles and sexual and domestic violence. -To effectively counter terrorists’ exploitation of youth abroad, governments should adopt a data-based approach to improve the targeting of terrorism prevention programs, move beyond a traditional focus on young men, address the potential for radicalization within the family, and emphasize attitudinal and behavioral change among those most vulnerable to recruitment.
Media Appearances:
TV Appearances:
Desde Colombia hasta Ucrania, las mujeres han jugado un papel fundamental y muy variado en los conflictos armados. Y aún así, sabemos muy poco sobre ellas en este contexto: ¿Quienes son estas mujeres que participan en las batallas? ¿Son sus motivos para tomar armas diferentes a los de los hombres que luchan junto a ellas? ¿Y qué funciones cumplen una vez que cesa el conflicto? La politóloga y investigadora, Jessica Trisko Darden, nos responde.
Radio Appearances:
What next for the wives of Islamic State fighters? The fate of thousands of foreign born women who went to Syria is uncertain. Should they have the right to return to their home countries?
An American woman joined the Islamic State, went to Syria, married three ISIS fighters and called for attacks on Americans. But now, she says she was brainwashed, is rejecting extremism and wants to come back — with her child. She says she's willing to face justice here in the U.S, but will she be allowed home?
Women play an increasingly important role as insurgents and rebels in civil conflicts all over the world. But most often their story goes untold and their impact has been poorly understood. Jessica Trisko Darden, co-author of Insurgent Women, joins Emma Ashford and Trevor Thrall to discuss her new book to discuss.
Newspaper Quotes:
Cómo afecta a la campaña el segundo intento de asesinato de Trump
Disney’s new “Mulan” movie comes at a time when all combat roles are open to U.S. servicewomen and when women have fought on the front lines in conflicts around the world. We know more than ever about why women participate in national militaries and rebel groups and why armed groups recruit them. Yet the depiction of female combatants in the media and on film often fails to accurately reflect this reality.
Why a Marshall Plan for Central America Will Fuel More Violence While the media focuses on the widespread violence caused by gangs, the governments of Central America are also responsible for a significant amount of the violence driving individuals from their homes. My research on the political impact of decades of foreign assistance to developing countries finds that economic aid, the current focal point of plans to reduce violence in Central America, is associated with increased levels of violence by state actors. Governments are able to channel foreign assistance into building their police, militaries, and other coercive institutions regardless of the intended purpose of the policy. This means that pumping economic aid into countries that are already among the most violent in the world is likely to only make matters worse.
Why strong social media campaigns will not stop the spread of terrorism United States counterterrorism strategy is based on the belief that terrorism is the result of bad ideas rather than poor circumstances. In emphasizing the importance of ideology, the United States is continuing a long tradition of attempting to shape the cultures and attitudes of other people without addressing their actual problems. As a result, our leaders have been fighting terrorism on the wrong battlefield.
Life After Terrorism: Offer a Path From ISIS Back Home? Readers disagree as to whether Americans who join ISIS should be permitted to return home for trial and possible rehabilitation.
The August 2018 incident is “entirely consistent with other reporting about HTS’s behaviour with respect to humanitarian groups,” said Prof. Jessica Trisko Darden, who studies the relationship between international development and conflict. Like many terror groups, HTS operates a system of taxation and extortion in parts of Syria under its control, she said. While HTS has stolen food aid from humanitarian organizations, the Canadian-funded technology could prove far more useful, said Trisko Darden, an assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service.
You say that the West should offer Syria “strictly humanitarian assistance” (“Assad’s hollow victory”, September 7th). There is evidence that humanitarian assistance to Syria has systematically been distributed only in areas loyal to Bashar al-Assad. The concentration of un operations in Damascus only makes the matter worse. Many other conflicts that featured extensive civilian suffering, including the famine in Ethiopia during the 1980s, were marked by the political distribution of aid, which extended the length and cost of war. It is a morally difficult choice to withhold assistance from those in need, but in the case of Mr Assad’s regime it is the correct one, regardless of the form of foreign assistance.
Humanitarian aid should never be used to justify war in conflict zones Politicizing humanitarian aid to justify a strike on Syria would forever undermine the perception of humanitarian organizations as neutral, risking the lives of aid workers and limiting the future access of aid organizations to conflicts around the world.
Should the U.S. Only Give Foreign Aid to Friends? Well, Define "Friends".
Professor: I know firsthand how an American education helps foreign students, and how they help make America great
President Trump Wants to Pressure Allies by Cutting Foreign Aid. That Never Works.
Federal Disaster Aid for Puerto Rico Isn't Foreign Aid--But Trump Acts That Way.
Duterte has put the Philippines under martial law. Here's how dangerous that could be.
Blog Posts:
How Women Wage War: A Short History of Female Insurgents