Assistant Professor of Conflict Management
Dr. Kristina Hook is an Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University’s School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding, and Development. She is an anthropologist and scholar-practitioner specializing in large-scale violence against civilians (including genocides and mass atrocities) as well as emerging forms of warfare and violence. She has research, teaching, and professional experience on topics including violence early warning and prevention, conflict stabilization, peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, and evolving security challenges like environmental degradation, emerging technologies, and hybrid warfare. A specialist in Ukraine and Ukraine-Russia relations, Dr. Hook has worked in 25 countries including across Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.
Based on her fieldwork as a U.S. Fulbright scholar to Ukraine, Dr. Hook’s current book project explores the dynamics and legacy of the Soviet-era Holodomor genocide, including how these events influenced modern interpretations of Ukraine’s current war with Russia. Supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP) and a USAID Research and Innovation Fellowship, she has conducted 2.5 years of ethnographic fieldwork across 32 cities and towns Ukraine since 2015. Trained in qualitative and quantitative methods, she analyzes how influential Ukrainian political actors (e.g., politicians, lawyers, civil society representatives, activists, academics, etc.) interacted and interpreted historical legacies of violence to respond to unfolding national crises from Soviet independence through the current war with Russia.
Previously, Dr. Hook was a Research Assistant Professor at George Mason University’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. In this capacity, she concurrently served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project (BEP), focused on advancing evidence-based conflict prevention and peacebuilding in fragile states across policy, research, donors, and practice, especially involving local peacebuilders. She continues to focus on connecting locally-informed conflict stabilization and violence prevention strategies to high-level policy decision-making.
Dr. Hook received a joint PhD in peace studies and anthropology from the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Department of Anthropology. She also holds M.A. degrees in anthropology (2019) and in international development (2012) from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies respectively. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Florida, where she graduated summa cum laude and as a valedictorian.
Prior to her time in academia, Dr. Hook served as a policy advisor at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations and as a political/economic officer in an embassy-based diplomatic posting abroad. She received a U.S. Department of State Meritorious Honor Award for her work on preventing and responding to mass atrocities and was a 2013-2015 U.S. Presidential Management Fellow. She also held leadership roles in two international development non-governmental organizations and was recognized in 2017 with the Society for Applied Anthropology’s Human Rights Defender Award. Dr. Hook is also a non-resident fellow at the Marine Corps University’s Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare.
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About Dr. Kristina Hook
Dr. Kristina Hook is an Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University’s School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding, and Development. She is an anthropologist and scholar-practitioner specializing in large-scale violence against civilians (including genocides and mass atrocities) as well as emerging forms of warfare and violence. She has research, teaching, and professional experience on topics including violence early warning and prevention, conflict stabilization, peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, and evolving security challenges like environmental degradation, emerging technologies, and hybrid warfare. A specialist in Ukraine and Ukraine-Russia relations, Dr. Hook has worked in 25 countries including across Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.
Based on her fieldwork as a U.S. Fulbright scholar to Ukraine, Dr. Hook’s current book project explores the dynamics and legacy of the Soviet-era Holodomor genocide, including how these events influenced modern interpretations of Ukraine’s current war with Russia. Supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP) and a USAID Research and Innovation Fellowship, she has conducted 2.5 years of ethnographic fieldwork across 32 cities and towns Ukraine since 2015. Trained in qualitative and quantitative methods, she analyzes how influential Ukrainian political actors (e.g., politicians, lawyers, civil society representatives, activists, academics, etc.) interacted and interpreted historical legacies of violence to respond to unfolding national crises from Soviet independence through the current war with Russia.
Previously, Dr. Hook was a Research Assistant Professor at George Mason University’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. In this capacity, she concurrently served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project (BEP), focused on advancing evidence-based conflict prevention and peacebuilding in fragile states across policy, research, donors, and practice, especially involving local peacebuilders. She continues to focus on connecting locally-informed conflict stabilization and violence prevention strategies to high-level policy decision-making.
Dr. Hook received a joint PhD in peace studies and anthropology from the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Department of Anthropology. She also holds M.A. degrees in anthropology (2019) and in international development (2012) from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies respectively. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Florida, where she graduated summa cum laude and as a valedictorian.
Prior to her time in academia, Dr. Hook served as a policy advisor at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations and as a political/economic officer in an embassy-based diplomatic posting abroad. She received a U.S. Department of State Meritorious Honor Award for her work on preventing and responding to mass atrocities and was a 2013-2015 U.S. Presidential Management Fellow. She also held leadership roles in two international development non-governmental organizations and was recognized in 2017 with the Society for Applied Anthropology’s Human Rights Defender Award. Dr. Hook is also a non-resident fellow at the Marine Corps University’s Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare.
| Present | Assistant Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University ‐ School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development | |
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Disciplines
Professional Service and Affiliations
| 2021 - Present | Assistant Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University | Executive Director, Better Evidence Project | Research Assistant Professor, George Mason University, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution | Political/Economic Officer, U.S. Department of State | Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations | Teaching Scholar, University of Notre Dame |
| MA, University of Denver ‐ Josef Korbel School of International Studies | ||
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| PhD, University of Notre Dame ‐ Kroc Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and Department of Anthropology | ||
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| MA, University of Notre Dame ‐ Department of Anthropology | ||
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| BA, University of Florida ‐ Department of Anthropology | ||
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