I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago where I specialize in the study of secrecy and intelligence and their relationship to International Relations theory, international security, and global governance. I am also a co-editor of the Cornell Studies in Security Affairs from Cornell University Press.

At the core of all my projects is an interest in understanding how governments selectively reveal and conceal what they do and the disjuncture this creates between the “front stage” and “back stage” of international politics. My first book, published in 2018 by Princeton University Press, analyzes covert forms of military intervention and the role of limited war in secrecy dynamics that surround covert intervention. A second book, published in 2020 by Cambridge University Press and with Allison Carnegie, analyzes how intelligence and other kinds of sensitive information impact the work of international organizations. Both books have received awards.

Other research assesses how states signal via covert action and the impact of publicity/secrecy on the health of international regimes. More recent projects push into new areas, such as the domestic politics of international order and the perception of old age in foreign policy leaders. Other projects use declassified intelligence documents to shed light on leaders, language, maps, and bureaucracy. My articles have appeared in International Organization, American Journal of Political Science, Security Studies, Journal of Politics, and Journal of Conflict Resolution.

You can view my CV here. A fun conversation about my scholarship can also be found in this podcast episode.

I graduated with a Ph.D. in Political Science from Ohio State University and have held research fellowships at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University, and the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.