Scholar
Not at Any Price: LBJ, Pakistan, and Bargaining in an Asymmetric Intelligence Relationship
International relations theory focuses largely on acknowledged alliances, and yet secret ties also shape relations among states. U.S.-Pakistani intelligence collaboration in the early Cold War highlights the gaps in our understanding of informal and secret…
Salami Tactics: Faits Accomplis and International Expansion in the Shadow of Major War
Salami tactics offer an attractive option for expansionist powers in the shadow of major war — using repetitive, limited faits accomplis to expand influence while avoiding potential escalation. Despite its long history of colloquial use, however, the term…
Caught Between Giants: Hostage Diplomacy and Negotiation Strategy for Middle Powers
What is hostage diplomacy, and how can U.S. allies respond to China’s use of this coercive tool of foreign policy? We conceptualize “hostage diplomacy” — the taking of hostages under the guise of law for use as foreign policy leverage — to explain an…
Better Monitoring and Better Spying: The Implications of Emerging Technology for Arms Control
How will emerging technology affect prospects for arms control? Technologies such as small satellites and artificial intelligence (AI) have applications in arms control monitoring and can affect the amount of information collected or the ease of information…
Moral Choices Without Moral Language: 1950s Political-Military Wargaming at the RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation was the site of early-Cold War knowledge production. Its scientists laid the foundations of nuclear deterrence, game theoretic approaches to international politics, defense acquisition, and theories on the future of war. The popularized…
The Political Effects of Social Media Platforms on Different Regime Types
American social media platforms can affect the political systems of different states in varying ways. The effect varies both between and within democratic and authoritarian states and depends mainly on three political actors: domestic opposition, external…
Erosion by Deference: Civilian Control and the Military in Policymaking
Delegating policymaking functions to members of the military profession can undermine civilian control in democracies, and yet democratic leaders continue to do just this. So why do leaders of democratic states delegate policymaking responsibilities to the…
The Truth About Tripwires: Why Small Force Deployments Do Not Deter Aggression
A pillar of American grand strategy since 1945 has been the deployment of forces — sometimes smaller and sometimes larger — abroad. A key logic underpinning smaller deployments is that they serve as tripwires: Attacking them is assumed to inevitably…
An Episode of Existential Uncertainty: The Ontological Security Origins of the War in Donbas
Despite the fact that the war in eastern Ukraine has been ongoing for over seven years, there remains no satisfactory answer as to what prompted Moscow to invade Donbas in the first place. Explanations range from materialist to ideational — however, none get…
Keeping Norms Normal: Ancient Perspectives on Norms in Civil-Military Relations
The norms that uphold democratic values are a vital part of a healthy system of civil-military relations, but they are not well understood in the United States today. Ancient political philosophers, however, developed rich analyses of what norms are and how…
The Future of Sino-U.S. Proxy War
Strategic thought in both the United States and China has focused on the potential for a Sino-U.S. interstate war and downplayed the odds of a clash in a foreign internal conflict. However, great-power military competition is likely to take the form of proxy…
From Citizen Soldier to Secular Saint: The Societal Implications of Military Exceptionalism
For nearly 40 years, the American public has placed extraordinary trust and confidence in the military, celebrating heroism and service in diverse venues ranging from religious services to theme parks to sporting events. Survey after survey has shown that…