Distinguished McKnight University Professor
Professor of Political Science
University of Minnesota
I study international conflict and security. I have written extensively, for both scholarly and general interest publications, on US foreign policy; grand strategy; military recruitment and service; civil-military relations; and rhetoric, narrative, and politics.
I am the author of two books: Narrative and the Making of US National Security (Cambridge University Press, 2015), which won the 2016 Robert L. Jervis and Paul W. Schroeder Best Book Award in International History and Politics and the 2016 Giovanni Sartori Book Award for the best book developing or applying qualitative methods; and Fighting for Rights: Military Service and the Politics of Citizenship (Cornell University Press, 2006).
I am also the coeditor of four books and special issues: Contestation in a World of Liberal Orders, a special issue of Global Studies Quarterly, with Stacie Goddard, Christian Kreuder-Sonnen, and Berthold Rittberger (2024); The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy, with Thierry Balzacq (Oxford University Press, 2021); Rhetoric and Grand Strategy, a special issue of Security Studies, with Stacie Goddard (2015); and In War's Wake: International Conflict and the Fate of Liberal Democracy, with Elizabeth Kier (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
At the University of Minnesota, I have been named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor (2024-), Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in the Liberal Arts (2015-2021), Scholar of the College of Liberal Arts (2017-2020), and McKnight Land-Grant Professor (2006-2008). I have also been a Professorial Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna since 2016 and an Adjunct Scholar of the Modern War Institute of the US Military Academy at West Point (2018-2019). From 2020-2023, I was editor-in-chief of the journal Security Studies.
At the University of Minnesota, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses on international relations theory, international security, and the consequences of war.
Current and forthcoming research and writing
The Age of Militarism: The Spread of Military Worship around the Globe. Book project (in progress).
“Liberal Legitimation and the Challenge to International Order.” With Stacie E. Goddard.
“Polarization, Politicization, and the Future of Democratic Civil-Military Relations.” With Robert Ralston. In Jason Dempsey, Keith Lambert Carter, Carrie Lee, Max Margulies, and Jaron Wharton, eds., Bend but do not Break: Shaping the Future of the All-Volunteer Force (Oxford University Press).
“Do Soldiers Get a Say? Soldiers’ Views and Public Support for Military Operations.” With Robert Ralston, Thierry Balzacq, David Blagden, Aaron Rapport, and Shaul Shenhav.
“Does Support-the-Troops Rhetoric Actually Support the Troops? Evidence from the United Kingdom and its Armed Forces Covenant.” With David Blagden and Robert Ralston.
“Citizenship Traditions and Cultures of Military Service: Patriotism or Paychecks in Five Democracies.” With Robert Ralston, Thierry Balzacq, David Blagden, Aaron Rapport, Shaul Shenhav, and Markus Steinbrecher.
“The National Security State and the Uses of Militarism.” With Robert Ralston. In special issue of Constitutional Political Economy, edited by Nathan Goodman, David Harper, and Mario Rizzo.
“Trust, but Verify: Explaining Trust in the Military Across the World, 2006-2021.” With Pedro Accorsi.
“Digital Deficit: How New Military Technologies Threaten Democratic Civil-Military Relations.” With Mark S. Bell.