Brian D. Cook Department of Sociology Stanford Universityhttp://www.stanford.edu/dept/soc/http://www.stanford.edushapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
 
 
I am in my final year of my doctoral program in Sociology at Stanford University and expect to receive my PhD in June of 2013. My primary research interests lie in political sociology, organizations and conflict. My research focuses on the interplay between political economy and organizations in regions of conflict and political transition. I have conducted fieldwork in a number of countries in Latin America and Southern Africa including Guatemala, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa.  
Research Interests
Education CV (pdf) bcook@stanford.eduEducation.htmlHome_files/Cook_CV_2012.pdfmailto:bcook@stanford.edu?subject=shapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1shapeimage_5_link_2
Dissertation Project
The three papers that comprise my dissertation explore different aspects of the interplay between conflict, organizations and political transitions. The first paper examines the role of international humanitarian organizations in regions of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, documenting some of the unintended consequences of NGO interventions in complex humanitarian emergences. The second two papers explore the impact of democratization on political parties and social movement organizations across racial groups in South Africa. From townships surrounding Cape Town to isolated Afrikaner communities in the Karoo Desert, this research has taken me to a diverse array of communities in South Africa and has provided important insights into the long-term impact of democratization with implications beyond Sub-Saharan Africa to events currently unfolding in North Africa and the Middle East.  
Other Research
In addition to my dissertation project, I am also currently working on a research project with Susan Olzak (Stanford University) and Ruud Koopmans (Social Science Research Center, Berlin) that examines the relationship between immigration policy and public discourse and anti-immigrant events in Western Europe.  http://www.stanford.edu/dept/soc/people/slozak/index.htmlhttp://www.wzb.eu/en/persons/ruud-koopmanshttp://www.wzb.eu/en/persons/ruud-koopmansshapeimage_12_link_0shapeimage_12_link_1shapeimage_12_link_2
Teaching Experience
I have taught sociology courses on social movements, comparative ethnic conflict, writing, and quantitative and qualitative research methods. I also have been involved in teaching writing, fieldwork and research methods seminars to students in the International Relations Honors Program at Stanford for the past four years.