Wilkenfeld attended University of Maryland, where he received a B.S. in Political Science. He later obtained an M.A. from George Washington University and a Ph.D. from Indiana University.^[2]

Wilkenfeld has been a professor at University of Maryland since 1969, where he has worked with the university’s Department of Government and Politics and the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). He is also a research professor of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).^[2]

Wilkenfeld and Michael Brecher are the creators of the International Crisis Behavior Project (ICB),^[3] which maintains an online database of 1,078 countries in international conflict, also called “crisis actors”, and their behavior in over 487 crises international crises since 1918.^[4] An example of an international conflict in the database is the Cuban Missile Crisis where the “crisis actors” were the U.S., the Soviet Union and Cuba.^[4] The ICB Project has been referenced in a number of academic papers in the analysis of conflict, terror and international crisis.^[5][6][7][8]

In 1982, Wilkenfeld founded the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project.^[9] The project allows students to learn about international relations, crisis management, and negotiation through simulations and scenario-driven exercises.^[9] The project has been referenced in multiple academic articles as an example of simulation programs in international relations (IR) for educational purposes.^[10][11]

Wilkenfeld research focuses on crisis theory, war, protracted social conflict, foreign policy, and international relations in the Middle East and South Asia.^[2]

Books edit

• The Irgun Zvai Leumi in the Israeli Independence Movement, Columbian College of the George Washington University, 1964 and 1966.
• The Determinants of Domestic and Foreign Conflict Behavior of Nations, Indiana University, 1969.
• Conflict Behavior and Linkage Politics, McKay, 1973.
• Foreign Policy Behavior: The Interstate Behavior Analysis Model, with Gerald W. Hopple and Steve Andriole, SAGE Publications, 1980.
• Crises in the Twentieth Century: Vol I: Handbook of International Crises with Michael Brecher and Sheila Moser, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1988.
• Crises in the Twentieth Century: Vol II: Handbook of Foreign Policy Crises with Michael Brecher and Sheila Moser, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1988.
• Crisis, conflict, and instability (Crises in the Twentieth Century: Volume III), with Michael Brecher and Sheila Moser, Pergamon Press, 1989.
• A Study of Crisis, with Michael Brecher, University of Michigan Press, 1997 and 2000.
• Negotiating a Complex World, with Brigid Starkey and Mark A. Boyer, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999, 2005, 2010 and 2015.
• Mediating International Crises, with Victor Asal, David Quinn, and Kathleen Young, Routledge, 2005 and 2007.
• Proceedings of the First International Conference on Computational Cultural Dynamics, with Dana Nau, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, 2007.
• Peace and Conflict, with Joseph Hewitt and Ted Gurr, Routledge, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
• Myth and Reality in International Politics: Meeting Global Challenges Through Collective Action, Routledge, 2016.
• Research Handbook on Mediating International Crises, with Kyle Beardsley and David Quinn, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.

Edited collections edit

• Crisis in the Twentieth Century, co-edited with Michael Brecher, (3 volumes), 1988, 1989.

• International Landmark Award, University of Maryland, 2003.
• Distinguished Scholar Award, International Studies Association, 2004.
• Distinguished Scholar Teacher Award, University of Maryland, 2009.
• Gerner Innovative Teaching in International Studies Award, International Studies Association, Foreign Policy Analysis Section, 2012.
• Dean’s Medal, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, 2013.
• Susan Strange Award, International Studies Association, 2019.