Virginia Page Fortna is an American political scientist, a specialist in the study of peace negotiations.
[1] She is currently the Harold Brown Professor of U.S. Foreign and Security Policy at Columbia University.
She is the recipient of the 2010 Karl Deutsch Award from the International Studies Association.
[3][4] Her research on terrorism reveals that terrorism usually fails, as non-terrorist movements are far more likely to win a settlement or a victory during civil conflicts, while groups that resort to systematic and indiscriminate violence are less likely to win or hold territory.
[6] She chaired the Columbia University political science department from 2013 to 2016,[7] and she currently serves as the director of the Salzman Institute for War and Peace Studies.