Dr. Roya Izadi
Dr. Roya Izadi is an Assistant Professor in the department of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island and a Research Fellow/Faculty Consultant at the Gender and the Security Sector Lab (GSS lab) at the Government Department at Cornell University. She is the Associate Director of The Center for Non-Violence and Peace Studies and the Director of Security Forces, Rights & Society (SFRS) Lab. She also directs the Naval War College/Cornell University Internship at URI.
Her research focuses on civil-military relations, political economy of security, militarization, gender and security forces, and political violence. Her work has been published or forthcoming in the “Journal of Conflict Resolution,” “International Studies Quarterly,” “Conflict Management and Peace Science,” “Research and Politics,” “International Interactions,” and “Armed Forces and Society.” For her research, she has received the 2020 “Stuart A. Bremer Award for the Most Outstanding Paper” from the Peace Science Society (International), the 2021 “Patricia Weitsman Award for Outstanding International Security Studies Section Paper” by International Studies Association (ISA), and “2021 Best Paper Award” by the Inter-university Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. At URI, she teaches courses on civil-military relations, conflict, comparative political behavior, and politics of West Asia and North Africa.
Dr. Izadi was born and raised in Tehran, Iran where she completed her undergraduate studies in Political Science at University of Tehran. She received her Masters in Political Science from Miami University in Ohio and her PhD from Binghamton University (SUNY).
Brianna Knight
Brianna Knight is an MA student in International Relations, concentrating in Nonviolence and Peace Studies, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Political Science Department. She hold a B.A. in Political Science and Economics, where her research examined American political economy and the global rise of populism. Her current research interests include Middle Eastern politics, societal militarization, and the dynamics of regime change.
Zachary Hurwitz
Zachary Hurwitz (Narragansett, Rhode Island), graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a triple major in International Studies & Diplomacy, French, and Political Science. He is currently continuing his studies at the URI, pursuing a Master’s degree in International Relations with a concentration in Diplomacy.
Isabella Pizzo
Isabella is the graduate administrative assistant for the Center of Nonviolence and Peace Studies and SFRS lab. She is a graduate student studying International Relations, concentrating in Global Peace Studies. Her main areas of interests are international conflict and economic development. She holds three bachelor’s degrees in Political Science, Italian, and International Studies. She is the recipient of the David Warren Scholars with High Distinction Award for Sustained Excellence in Political Science in 2023, two University Academic Excellence awards in 2025 for the Italian and International Studies and Diplomacy programs, as well as other awards from the Italian department.
Ava Palma
Ava is a senior at the University of Rhode Island, majoring in Political Science and Italian. She has worked as a Research Assistant at URI for almost two years through the Political Science Department, the Center for Non-violence and Peace Studies, and the SFRS Lab. She has worked on various projects at URI concerning civil-military relations, trust in police around the world, societal militarization, and anti-Americanism. She is the recipient of the David Warren Scholars with High Distinction Award for Sustained Excellence in Political Science in 2025 and was a College of Arts & Sciences Fellow in Summer 2025. Currently, she is interning as an undergraduate researcher at the Gender and Security Sector Lab at Cornell University.