I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Global and Regional Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Vermont. I also direct our Middle East studies program. My work focuses on religion and politics in the Middle East, and I have published scholarly articles drawing from my research on interstate conflict, terrorism, international blasphemy debates and refugee crises. I teach courses on Middle East politics, terrorism, religion, and international relations (see my Teaching page for more information).

Before coming to UVM, I worked for over ten years in international affairs in Washington, DC. I worked for several years after college as a consultant with the US government on counterterrorism and Middle East politics. I also worked with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) on domestic extremism. Most recently, I ran the Pew Research Center’s work on global religious freedom.

I have published numerous scholarly articles and books with Cambridge University Press and Cornell University Press (see my Research page for more information, and this page for information on my new book). I also am an editor at the Duck of Minerva, and have written for other sites. Additionally, I have discussed international religious issues with several media outlets (see my Media and Commentary page).

I received my Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University, and my B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College. I am a native of southeastern PA.

More information is available in my CV.

I can be reached at peter.henne[at]uvm.edu.