O’Leary Doubly Honored

Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, has been honored by the Royal Irish Academy and the International Studies Association. The Royal Irish Academy elected him an honorary member, and he was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award of the International Studies Association's Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration Studies Section for lifetime contributions to the study of nationalism and ethnic conflict resolution, along with his regular co-author John McGarry.      

O’Leary was born in Cork, Ireland and is a citizen of Ireland and the United States. He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, where he taught for twenty years. He has been at Penn since 2002, and his research interests include nationalism and national self-determination; national, ethnic, and communal violence; the security sectors of divided places; and ancient and modern despotisms.

O’Leary is the author, co-author, and co-editor of 22 books and the author or co-author of over 120 articles or chapters in peer-reviewed journals and university presses. His academic career has been regularly combined with constitutional advisory work to governments and organizations including the United Nations, the European Union, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, the Governments of the U.K. and Ireland, and the British Labour Party during the Irish peace process. 

The Royal Irish Academy was founded in 1785 for the advancement of learning and scholarship in Ireland. Members represent Ireland’s leading experts in the sciences and humanities. Past honorary members include Edmund Burke, Charles Darwin, Maria Edgeworth, Albert Einstein, and Max Born.

The International Studies Association is one of the oldest interdisciplinary associations dedicated to understanding international, transnational, and global affairs. It is a hub for research-sharing among its members, including academics, practitioners, and policy experts.