Hi! I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Old Dominion University and the coordinator of the U.S. Foreign Policy concentration within ODU’s Graduate Program in International Studies.

My interests include U.S. foreign policy, international security, international law, diplomatic history, and race in international relations. I teach a range of related courses to the undergraduate and graduate students at ODU.

My first book, The Picky Eagle, was published by Cornell University Press in 2020. It explains why the United States expanded westward but chose to leave Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and other nearby areas independent, eventually rejecting further annexations altogether, showing how democracy and xenophobia limited U.S. territorial expansion.

My second book, The United States and International Law, is an edited volume that explores variations in the U.S. relationship with international law, explaining why the United States often supports international law in some ways while undermining it in others, even within the same issue area. It was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2022.

Another edited volume, Alliances and Partnerships in a Complex and Challenging Security Environment, was a product of the 2024 NATO Academic Conference hosted by Old Dominion University, a key step on NATO’s road to its July 2024 Washington Summit.

I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, and before coming to ODU I also taught at Notre Dame, Cornell University, and the University of Evansville. I have published research in journals such as International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Texas National Security Review, Diplomatic History, International Studies Perspectives, Terrorism and Political Violence, and Historical Methods, and I regularly present research at the annual conferences of the International Studies Association, the American Political Science Association, and elsewhere. I have also taught and presented research overseas, including in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Georgia.