Research

My core research agenda examines questions of domestic politics and international security. Much of my current work contends with how the rise of populism impacts existing security alliances. This research serves as a jumping-off point for my larger interest in understanding how domestic politics informs decisions concerning security cooperation—such as alliance formation, alliance termination, and foreign troop deployment. I emphasize the qualitative research in my work, but I am comfortable with quantitative methods, using both observational and experimental data in my research.

Specific Areas of Interest:

Populism
Alliance Politics
International Security
Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy
U.S. Foreign Policy

Peer-reviewed Publications

"Populism, Partisanship, and Protection: Elite Rhetoric and U.S. Public Opinion on NATO" (with James Kirk) at Political Science Quarterly (Advance Issue)

Invitations to Revise & Resubmit

"All Well on the Western Front: The Myth of U.S. Military Decline" (with Pedro Accorsi) at Security Studies

Dissertation

In my dissertation, I examine how populist leaders manage their existing alliances. More specifically, I explore the conditions under which populist leaders increase, maintain, or decrease their alliance security commitments relative to their non-populist predecessors. I develop a theory of populist alliance management and test it using multiple qualitative comparative case studies, notably Hungary under Orbán, the Philippines under Duterte, Greece under Papandreou, Poland under Duda, and Pakistan under Bhutto. I also employ quantitative analysis through measurements of arms transfers, joint military exercises, and military aid.

Research in Progress

"Populism and Alliance Institutionalization: Hungary under Orbán and NATO" [Dissertation Chapter]

"Leader Death and War Termination" (with Spenser Warren)

"The Logic of Sportswashing in Non-Democracies" (with Madeline Kasper)