Balcells, Laia. 2017. Rivalry and Revenge: the Politics of Violence during Civil War. New York: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) [Available for purchase at CUP, Bookshop, and other bookstores]

Spanish translation (Rivalidad y Venganza) published in January 2021. ICIP/ Edicions Bellaterra.

Balcells, Laia, and Stathis Kalyvas. 2025. Revolutionary Civil Wars and the "Marxist Paradox”.  American Political Science Review. [Conditionally accepted]

Balcells, Laia, Sergi Martínez, and Ethan vanderWilden. 2025.  Discounting extreme positions: Party normalization and support for the far right. Political Science Research and Methods. [Conditionally accepted]

Balcells, Laia, Sergi Martínez, Vicente Valentim, and Ethan vanderWilden.  2025. Stigmatizing the radical right. Journal of Experimental Political Science. [Conditionally accepted; pre-registered report]

Balcells, Laia, Olwen Purdue, and Elsa Voytas. 2024. Remembering the violent past in ethnically divided societies.  Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.
Included in the Special Issue "Conflict and Peace: The cultural dimension", edited by Giuditta Fontana. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia, and Alexander Kuo. 2024. Social costs and policy preferences: Evidence from territorial strategies in Catalonia. Nations and Nationalism. [Publisher's version]

Goers, Harriet Jane, Kathleen G. Cunningham, and Laia Balcells*. 2024. The internal drivers of self-rule referenda. Conflict Management and Peace Science. [Publisher's version] *Authors listed in reverse alphabetical order; equal authorship.

Tellez, Juan, and Laia Balcells. 2024. Social cohesion, economic security, and forced displacement in the long-run: Evidence from rural Colombia. Journal of Conflict Resolution. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia, Juan Tellez, and Francisco Villamil. 2024. The wars of others. The effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Spanish nationalism. Journal of Politics 86(1): 352–357. [Publisher's version] [Online_Appendix] [Pdf of published article, with public access mandate] 

Balcells, Laia, Lesley-Ann Daniels, and Alexander Kuo. 2023. Territorial disputes and affective polarization. European Journal of Political Research 63(3): 906-926. [Publisher's version][Online Appendix][Replication files]

Balcells, Laia, Lesley-Ann Daniels, and Alexander Kuo. 2023. The weight of territorial issues. A comparison of Catalonia, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Comparative Politics 56 (1): 1-22. [Publisher's version] [Online Appendix (SI)] [Pdf of published article, with public access mandate]

Balcells, Laia and Alexander Kuo. 2022. Secessionist conflict and affective polarization. Evidence from Catalonia. Journal of Peace Research 60(4): 604-618. [Publisher's version] [Replication Files] [Online Appendix]][Preprint][Pdf of published article, with public access mandate]

Balcells, Laia, Chong Cheng, and Costantino Pischedda. 2022. Do birds of a feather flock together? Rebel constituencies and civil war alliances. International Studies Quarterly  [Publisher's version] [Preprint] [Replication Files] 

Balcells, Laia, Valeria Palanza, and Elsa Voytas. 2022. Do transitional justice museums persuade visitors? Evidence from a field experiment. Journal of Politics 84(1): 496-510. [Publisher's version] [Online Appendix] [Replication Files]

Villamil, Francisco and Laia Balcells. 2021. Do TJ policies cause backlash? Evidence from street name changes in Spain.  Research & Politics 8(4): 1-7 [Publisher's version][Replication Files][Online Appendix]

Balcells, Laia and Alexander Kuo. 2021. Preferences in between: Moderates in the Catalan secessionist conflict. Politics and Governance 9(4): 386-398. [Publisher's version] [Online Appendix]

Balcells, Laia and Jessica Stanton. 2021. Violence against civilians during armed conflict. Moving beyond the macro- and micro-level divide. Annual Review of Political Science 24: 45-69. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia, Spencer Dorsey, and Juan Tellez. 2021. Repression and dissent in contemporary Catalonia. British Journal of Political Science 51(4): 1742-1750. [Publisher's version] [Replication Files][Online_Appendix][Preprint]

Balcells, Laia and Daniel Solomon. 2020. Violence, resistance, and rescue during the Holocaust. Comparative Politics 53(1): 161-180(20). [Publisher's version] [Preprint]

Balcells, Laia and Francisco Villamil. 2020. The double logic of internal purges: New evidence from Francoist Spain. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 26(3): 260-278. [Publisher's version] [Replication Files] [Online Appendix][Pdf of [published article, with public access mandate]

Balcells, Laia and Gerard Torrats-Espinosa. 2018. Using a natural experiment to estimate the electoral consequences of terrorist attacks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 115(42): 10624-10629.  [Publisher's version] [Replication Files] 

Balcells, Laia and Christopher Sullivan. 2018. New findings from conflict archives: An introduction and methodological framework. Journal of Peace Research 55(2): 137-146. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia. 2018. Dynamics of internal resettlement during civil war. Evidence from Catalonia (1936-1939). Journal of Peace Research 55(2): 236-251. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia and Abbey Steele. 2016. Warfare, political identities, and displacement in Spain and Colombia. Political Geography 51: 15-29. [Publisher's version][Pdf of published article, with public access mandate]

Balcells, Laia, Lesley-Ann Daniels, and Abel Escribà-Folch. 2016. The Determinants of low-intensity intergroup violence. The case of Northern Ireland. Journal of Peace Research 53: 33-48. [Publisher's version][Replication files]

Balcells, Laia, José Fernández-Albertos, and Alexander Kuo. 2015. Preferences for inter-regional redistribution. Comparative Political Studies 48: 1318-1351. [Publisher's version] [Online Appendix][Pdf of published article, with public access mandate]

Balcells, Laia and Patricia Justino. 2014. Bridging micro and macro approaches on civil wars and political violence: Issues, challenges, and the way forward. Journal of Conflict Resolution 58(8): 1343-1359. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia and Stathis Kalyvas. 2014. Does warfare matter? Severity, duration, and outcomes of civil wars. Journal of Conflict Resolution 58(8):  1390-1418. [Publisher's version][Replication files and Online appendix]

Fernández-Albertos, José, Alexander Kuo, and Laia Balcells. 2013. Economic crisis, globalization, and partisan bias: Evidence from Spain. International Studies Quarterly 57(4): 804-816. [Publisher's version] [Replication files][Pdf of published article with public access mandate]

Balcells, Laia. 2013. Mass schooling and Catalan nationalism. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 19 (4): 467-486 [Publisher's version]

Orriols, Lluís and Laia Balcells. 2012. Party polarisation and spatial voting in Spain. South European Society and Politics 17(3): 393-409. [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia. 2012. The consequences of victimization on political identities. Evidence from Spain. Politics & Society 40(3): 309-345. [Publisher's version] [Online appendix]  [Pdf of published article with public access mandate] [CIS2760 Survey] 

Aguilar, Paloma, Laia Balcells, and Héctor Cebolla. 2011. Determinants of attitudes towards Transitional Justice. Comparative Political Studies 44 (10): 1397-1430. [Publisher's version] [Pdf of published article with public access mandate] [CIS2760 Survey we designed] 

Balcells, Laia. 2011. Continuation of politics by two means: Direct and indirect violence in Civil War. Journal of Conflict Resolution 55(3): 397-422. [Publisher's version] [Online appendix][Pdf of published article with public access mandate]

Kalyvas, Stathis and Laia Balcells. 2010. International System and Technologies of Rebellion: How the Cold War Shaped Internal Conflict. American Political Science Review 104 (3): 415-429. [Publisher's version] [Online appendix] [Replication files]

Balcells, Laia. 2010. Rivalry and Revenge. Violence against Civilians in Conventional Civil Wars. International Studies Quarterly 54 (2): 291-313. [Publisher's version] [Replication files]

Balcells, Laia. 2006. Trade Openness and Preferences for Redistribution: A Cross-National Assessment of the Compensation Hypothesis. Business and Politics 8(2). [Publisher's version]

Balcells, Laia, and Elsa Voytas. 2024. The Troubles and Beyond.:The Impact of a Museum Exhibit in a Post-Conflict Society.  [Resubmitted, American Journal of Political Science]

Ballesteros, Simón, Laia Balcells, and Daniel Solomon. 2024. Formal institutions after conflict: Rebel ideology and post-war constitutional design.  [Revise  and resubmit, Comparative Political Studies]

Balcells, Laia, and Ethan vanderWilden. 2024. Transitional justice and linked party sympathies. [Decline and resubmit, Journal of Politics]

Amat, Francesc, and Laia Balcells. 2024. Are Depolarization Policies Costly? The Pardons of Catalan Prisoners in Spain. [Decline and resubmit, Journal of Politics]

Balcells, Laia, Justino, Patricia, and Andrea Ruggeri. 2025. "Legacies of Repression and Resistance in Early 20th Century Europe." Special issue, Comparative Political Studies.

Balcells, Laia and Christopher Sullivan. 2018. New Findings from the Archives of Political Conflict. Special issue, Journal of Peace Research 55(2): 135-286.

Balcells, Laia and Patricia Justino. 2014. Bridging Micro and Macro Approaches on Civil Wars and Political Violence: Issues, Challenges, and the Way Forward. Special issue,  Journal of Conflict Resolution 58(8): 1343- 1527.

CHAPTERS IN EDITED VOLUMES

Amat, Francesc, and Laia Balcells. 2025. Territorial conflict in Spain. Preferences and institutions. In Twisted Modernization, edited by Carles Boix and Pablo Beramendi. Cambridge University Press. [Under production].

Balcells, Laia and Elsa Voytas. 2023. What Difference Do Museums Make? In The Oxford Handbook of Transitional Justice. Edited by Jens Meierhenrich, Alexander Laban Hinton, and Lawrence Douglas.  Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Preprint] [Publisher's version] 

Balcells, Laia. 2020. Researching an Old Civil War. In Cautionary Tales. Edited by Ora Szekely and Peter Krause. NY: Columbia University Press. [Pulisher's version] 

Balcells, Laia. 2015. Political Violence. An Institutional Approach. In Handbook on Political Institutions. Edited by Jennifer Gandhi and Rubén Ruiz. London: Routledge. [Pdf]

JOURNAL ARTICLES in other languages

Balcells, Laia. 2011. La muerte está en el aire: los bombardeos en Cataluña, 1936-1939 // Death is in the air: bombings in Catalonia, 1936-1939. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas 136: 193-214.

Aguilar, Paloma, Balcells, Laia, and Héctor Cebolla. 2011. Las actitudes de los españoles ante las medidas de justicia transicional relativas a la Guerra Civil y al franquismo. Revista Internacional de Sociología 69 (1): 59-90.

Balcells, Laia. 2009. Analyzing the division of household labor within Spanish families. Revista Internacional de Sociología 1: 83-105.

Balcells, Laia. 2007. Es el voto nacionalista un voto de proximidad o un voto de compensación? Una nueva aproximación “espacial” al voto en dos dimensiones. Revista Española de Ciencia Política 16: 61-88. [Pdf]

Balcells, Laia and Francisco Villamil. 2023. The Legacies of Authoritarian Repression on Civil Society. UNU-WIDER Working Paper.

Garbiras-Díaz, Natalia, Michael Weintraub,  Leopoldo Fergusson,  Juana García,  Laia Balcells, 2023. "Do Third-Party Guarantors Reassure Foot Soldiers?," Documentos CEDE 20811, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

Tellez, Juan, and Laia Balcells. 2022. Social Cohesion, Economic Security, and Forced Displacement in the Long-Run : Evidence from Rural Colombia. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper.

Balcells, Laia. A Way Out of Spain's Catalan Crisis. And Why Madrid Is Unlikely to Take It. Foreign Affairs. November 27th.

Balcells, Laia & Stathis Kalyvas. 2013. "Technology of Rebellion in the Syrian Civil War."  In The Political Science of Syria's War. Ed. Marc Lynch. POMEPS Briefings 22, Washington DC: Middle East Channel & Project on Middle East Political Science, pp. 11-13.

Balcells, Laia, Lionel Beehner, and Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl. 2014. "How should we count the war dead in Syria?" Syria and the Islamic State. Ed. Marc Lynch. POMEPS Briefings, Washington DC: Middle East Channel & Project on Middle East Political Science, pp. 12-14.

Balcells, Laia, and Elna Roig. 2008. Cataluña después del primer “Tripartit”.Continuidad y cambio en patrones de comportamiento electoral. Fundación Alternativas, Estudio 39.

2023. Violent Victors, by Sarah Daly. Princeton University Press, 2022. In International Affairs, July 2023.

2023. Ordering Violence: Explaining Armed Group-State Relations from Conflict to Cooperation, by Paul Staniland. Cornell University Press, 2021. In Political Science Quarterly, Fall 2023.

2022. Mobilization and Conflict in Multiethnic States, by Manuel Vogt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. In Journal of Peace Research's Book Notes, April 2022.

2022. Governing for Revolution: Social Transformation in Civil War, by Megan A. Stewart. Cambridge University Press, 2021. In Perspectives on Politics, June 2022.

2021. Quagmire in Civil War, by Schulhofer-Wohl, Jonah. Cambridge University Press, 2020. In The Middle East Journal 75(2): 342-344.

2012. Ariel Ahram’s Proxy Warriors: The Rise and Fall of State Sponsored Militias; Timothy D. Sisk’s International Mediation in Civil Wars. Bargaining with Bullets; Amalendu Misra’s Politics of Civil Wars: Conflict, Intervention and Resolution. In Democracy and Security 8(4): 406-414. [Pdf]

2009. Stathis N. Kalyvas (2006) The Logic of Violence in Civil War. Cambridge University Press. In Revista Española de Ciencia Política (20): 177-184 [In Spanish] In Pôle Sud 30: 147-149 [In English]

OTHER ACADEMIC WRITING

Balcells, Laia. 2021. Historical Research in Political Science: Best Practices. APSA International History Politics Section Newsletter, Spring 2021, Volume 7, Issue 1.

Balcells, Laia. 2014. Redistribution and Regional Independence Movements. APSA Comparative Politics Section Newsletter, Fall 2014, Volume 24, Issue II.

Balcells, Laia. 2013. Opening the black box of secessionism. Transfer: Journal of Contemporary Culture 8: 49-51.

Balcells, Laia. 2009. La identitat catalana, entre França i Espanya. Diàlegs: revista d'estudis polítics i socials 12(43): 33-60. [Preprint]
 

 Last Updated: 3 January 2025