Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, PhD

Education

• PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• BA, Tel-Aviv University

Research/Creative Interests

• International Relations Theory
• International Norms
• Human Rights and Transitional Justice
• The Conflict in Israel/Palestine

Teaching Philosophy

Leave every class with something you didn't know coming in, either about the world or about yourself.

Grants, Awards, Honors & Recognitions

• Non-Resident Fellow, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University

Employment History

• Brandeis University
  Senior Fellow, Crown Center for Middle East Studies (2021-2022)
• Wellesley College
  Visiting Lecturer, Department of Political Science (2014-2016)
• Brandeis University
  Lecturer, Department of Politics/ Coexistence and Conflict Program (2009-2012)

Recent Scholarly or Creative Contributions

Recent Publications

• Dixon, J. M., & Co-author. (2025). The State of Repair: The International Norm of Reparations between Aspirations and Expectations. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 19(1), 101-117.
• Dixon, J. M., & Co-author. (2024). Rethinking Norm Change: Content and Strength in Norm Development. In P. Orchard & A. Wiener (Eds.), Contesting the World: Norm Research in Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.
• (2022). Democracy at Risk: Assessing Israel’s Democratic Backsliding (Middle East Brief No. 150). Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University.
• (2021). Historical Acknowledgment as an Early Conflict Negotiation Strategy: A Feasibility Study of Israel/Palestine. Negotiation Journal, 37(2), 163-191.
• Dixon, J. M., & Co-author. (2021). Conceptualizing and Assessing Norm Strength in International Relations. European Journal of International Relations, 27(2), 521-547. (Winner of the APSA 2022 International History & Politics Section Best Article Award).