Dr. Caprioli earned her PhD (1999) and her MA (1995) from the University of Connecticut and her BA from Marist College in New York (1993). Dr. Caprioli’s PhD fields are in International Relations (International Security & Foreign Policy), Comparative Politics (Developing Countries), and Quantitative Methodology. She also earned a PhD-level Certificate in Women’s Studies from UCONN (1999). Her research is interdisciplinary and focuses broadly on issues of international security. She is fundamentally interested in understanding why states, societies, and individuals engage in violent behavior. She was a pioneer in linking the security of women with the both intra- and interstate behavior and by testing her hypotheses quantitatively, generating greater acceptance for feminist IR theories. Her scholarship has influenced scholars worldwide (her research has been cited over 2,500 times), policy (most recently the ‘US Strategy on Women Peace and Security’, June 2019), and public discourse (Sex and World Peace published by Columbia University Press has been championed by Gloria Steinem since its publication, and her articles have been cited in newspapers across the globe). She is a long-standing member of the Board of Directors for WomanStats (the most comprehensive database of statistical and experiential cross-national data and information on women used by scholars, policymakers, and journalists), is a former associate editor of Foreign Policy Analysis and is currently on the editorial boards for Journal of Global Security Studies and Politics and Gender. She continues her innovative, interdisciplinary research with her examination of the origins and perpetuation of gender inequality and its effects on international security and has been recognized worldwide for her scholarly contributions.
Dr. Caprioli is the current Director of International Studies and teaches the Introduction (typically the online section) and Senior Seminar (various controversial topics) for International Studies: INTS 1010 and 4100. She also teaches International Negotiation & Bargaining (INTS 3458, cross-listed with POL 3458).
In Political Science, Dr. Caprioli typically teaches International Relations (POL 1050, online & in-class), International Security (POL 3456), International Negotiation & Bargaining (POL 3458), Contemporary Issues in World Politics (POL 3400, various topics), and occasionally the Senior Seminar (POL 4190, most often on security issues).
Dr. Caprioli uses active methods of teaching, including simulations because they have been identified as the best way for students to learn and remember long-term.