Biography

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M University. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 2024.

My research examines political violence and civil conflict, with a focus on the intersection of violent political behavior and the socio organizational dimensions of rebellion, specifically examining how rebel organizations’ violent and nonviolent interactions with allies, rivals, civilians, and the international public shape conflict processes. My work centers on two closely related areas: rebel-civilian relations and rebel communication strategies, with emerging projects extending to rebel intra-group politics. I use a variety of quantitative methods, including network analysis, quasi-experiments, and survey experiments.

My work has been published or is forthcoming in Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Political Psychology, Political Science Research and Methods, among others. My research has been funded by the Minerva Research Initiative, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, and Melbern G. Glasscock Center.

I co-organize the Junior Scholars in Quantitative Conflict Workshop.

Please reach me at ilaydaonder [at] tamu [dot] edu.

Recent Publications

Onder, Ilayda B., Mark Berlin. 2025. “We Have Nothing to Do With It”: How Statements of Denial by Armed Actors Shape Public Perceptions and Emotions. Political Psychology.