I am a full professor in the Department of Political Science. I teach graduate and undergraduate classes in international relations.
Research Interests
My research focuses on the dynamics of international cooperation and conflict. Past research explored the relationship between institutions (both domestic and international) and states' propensities to use military force. My current research explores if and when states pursue nuclear weapons and how nuclear weapons shape international conflict.
Biography
I am Professor of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts. I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and did my graduate work at the University of Kentucky (MA) and the Pennsylvania State University (PhD). I started at the University of Mississippi in the fall of 2000. At the undergraduate level I teach courses on the politics of nuclear proliferation and disarmament, the United Nations and international institutions, and the first-year seminar sequence in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. In 2004 I received the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen in the College of Liberal Arts, and in 2019 I was selected by the Ole Miss chapter of Mortar Board to give the university’s “Last Lecture.” In 2024 I was awarded the Elsie M. Hood Award as the most outstanding teacher at the University of Mississippi. I serve as a board member for the Correlates of War, a national data collection project, and also serve as co-lead on the Correlates of War International Organizations data set. My research has been funded by both the University of Mississippi and the National Science Foundation. I served on the editorial board of the Journal of Politics from 2008-2015 and currently serve as an Associate Editor of the journal International Interactions.
Term Limits
Leader Preferences
Interstate Conflict
Bargaining in the Shadow of a Commitment Problem,
Political Party and Presidential Decisions to Use Force: Explaining a Puzzling Non-Finding
Substitution is in the Variance: Resources and Foreign Policy
Courses Taught
- Pol 103 Introduction to International Relations
- Pol 331 International Organization
- Pol 335 International Politics of Nuclear Weapons
- Pol 339 International Conflict
- Pol 739 International Organizations and Cooperation
Education
B.A. Political Science, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (1992)
M.A. International Relations, University of Kentucky (1995)
Ph.D. Political Science, Pennsylvania State University Main Campu (2000)