Kristina Hook

Assistant Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University
I am an Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University’s School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding, and Development. As an anthropologist and scholar-practitioner, I specialize in genocide and mass atrocity prevention, emerging technologies and disinformation, post-conflict reconstruction, and war-related environmental degradation. A specialist in Ukraine and Russia, I have worked in 25+ countries including across Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.

Supported by National Science Foundation, Fulbright, USAID, and other grants and fellowships, I am writing a book about the Ukraine-Russia war. This book discusses Joseph Stalin's historical genocide against Ukraine (the Holodomor) and how modern leaders interpreted this history to predict both Russia's modern genocidal war and Ukraine's stunning resistance. This book draws from more than 8 years of research on the Russia-Ukraine war, including 2.5 years of fieldwork across 32 Ukrainian cities and towns. My book is also based on my doctoral dissertation, which won the Kellogg Institute for International Studies Distinguished Dissertation in Democracy and Human Rights Award and was nominated for several other university and international awards.

I received my joint PhD in peace studies and anthropology from the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Department of Anthropology. I hold 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. My B.A. in anthropology is from the University of Florida, where I graduated as a valedictorian.

Prior to my time in academia, I 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 abroad. I received a U.S. Department of State Meritorious Honor Award for my work on preventing and responding to mass atrocities and was a 2013-2015 Presidential Management Fellow.

I have also held leaderships roles at several international development and conflict resolution non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At George Mason University's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, I served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project which bridges gaps in policy, research, practice, and donors in the war prevention field. In 2017, I was recognized with the Society for Applied Anthropology's Human Rights Defender Award.

Presently, I am a non-resident fellow at the Marine Corps University's Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare. I regularly consult with government, multilateral, and human rights organizations.