International Relations

James

My research interests include national security policy, ethics in international relations, and democratic peace theory.

My research interests focus primarily on how some regions are able to cease hostilities and enter more peaceful and cooperative relations while others find themselves trapped in the entangling historical animosities and disputes. In particular, I am interested in the comparative regional security developments in postwar Europe and East Asia.

Helms

Benjamin Helms is a Ph.D. student with research interests focused on international political economy. In particular, he is interested in the linkages between cross-border economic flows and international labor migration. His current work focuses on the relationship between corruption in the developing world and emigration pressures, as well as how domestic labor market policies shape immigrant flows to advanced economies.

Gorkowski

My research interests focus on the role of non-state actors and informal power structures in low-intensity and post-conflict environments. Particularly, I am interested in the application of economic and social incentives to manipulate informal power structures. Other interests include social movements and contentious collective action, U.S. Defense and State Department appropriations and Executive/Legislative relations.

Ganczak

Dictus

My research centers on how intelligence communities influence assessments of intentions and capabilities. I am interested in how intelligence assets are deployed against both state and non-state actors.

Dang

I am interested in the sociopolitical ramifications of gender-based violence in armed conflict, with particular focus on transitional justice mechanisms during peacebuilding and how political institutions address and attend to survivors’ needs and interests in the aftermath of war. I am also interested in how international organizations define and classify global humanitarian crises, as well as the decision-making processes of leadership en route to deploying multilateral humanitarian military interventions.

Cao

My research interests lie at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations, with a focus on economic policies. I hope to research on how state and non-state actors shape governments’ priorities and behaviors on international trade and finance. With a specific interest in non-democratic countries, I am curious about why certain non-democratic countries are able to effectively cooperate with each other to tackle trans-national issues while others are incapable of making alliances.

Bonsall

Interested in policy concerning gender equality and its intersections with other identities.

Womack

Professor of Foreign Affairs and holder of the C. K.

Department of Politics