I'm an Assistant Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies at the University of South Florida. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine. My teaching and research interests intersect the fields of international relations, international law, global governance, and foreign policy with a focus on the tension between security and human rights. My current book project, Speaking Law to War: International Law, Legal Advisers, and Bureaucratic Contestation in U.S. Defense Policy, examines whether, why, and how states comply with their international obligations during times of great threat. More specifically, I examine how the domestic institutionalization of international law into the U.S. national security system affected its use of torture during the Vietnam War and the War on Terrorism. Fieldwork for this project has been supported by the Herbert F. York Global Security Dissertation Fellowship Award, administered by the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation in collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories.
I have also conducted research for the National Security Archive, with John Prados, setting the documentary record of CIA covert operations from 1947-1975. My latest article for the Archive can be accessed here.
Additionally, as the Education Director for the Olive Tree Initiative (OTI), I prepared students academically for a rigorous three-week experiential learning trip to the Middle East where they gain a richer understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. My work with OTI has broadened my research agenda, which has led to several journal articles, the latest published in the European Journal of International Relations, analyzing the effects of the UN Security Council on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (co-authored with Jonathan Graubart).
Prior to my doctoral studies, I received my B.A. in History and M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University. Finally, as someone with a permanent visual disability (Stationary Cone-Rod Dystrophy), I value and support the advocacy and research of the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
I have also conducted research for the National Security Archive, with John Prados, setting the documentary record of CIA covert operations from 1947-1975. My latest article for the Archive can be accessed here.
Additionally, as the Education Director for the Olive Tree Initiative (OTI), I prepared students academically for a rigorous three-week experiential learning trip to the Middle East where they gain a richer understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. My work with OTI has broadened my research agenda, which has led to several journal articles, the latest published in the European Journal of International Relations, analyzing the effects of the UN Security Council on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (co-authored with Jonathan Graubart).
Prior to my doctoral studies, I received my B.A. in History and M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University. Finally, as someone with a permanent visual disability (Stationary Cone-Rod Dystrophy), I value and support the advocacy and research of the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
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