PROJECTS
I have two ongoing projects that address issues within the university system that have recently experienced increased attention.
“Power: What it is and How to Talk About It” is a five-part series, and the main focus of my research.
I have a few more projects I dedicate my time to that are indirectly related to both of the above research enterprises
SCIENCE AS A (FAILING) INDUSTRY:
THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE
Though the Trump Administration’s attacks on science are unprecedented in living memory, government, religious, and corporate persecution of academia and academics is the norm across recorded history. To ensure the survival of scientific inquiry and truth as a societal value, universities must address the fundamental problem in it’s business model: an inability to sustain itself.
In this paper, I review the products and services created or provided by science as an industry, revealing fundamental misunderstandings that permeate the university system and lead to negative outcomes. Where gaps in funding were previously filled with grants and donations, I propose a re-orientation of the university’s products and services that serves the goals of the university, academics, and the education system as a whole and acts as a sustainable funding model for education, research, and faculty development programs.
This project is ongoing and will be published here soon!
UNIVERSITIES AREN’T “CAPTURED” BY LIBERALS, THEY ARE AVOIDED BY CONSERVATIVES
Universities primarily employ liberal faculty members, but this is not the result of a strategic political agenda. Instead, conservatives (who tend to be risk-averse) avoid academic positions, which often come with an unstable and unpredictable career path. Extensive interview, employment, and census data suggest that conservatives lead lives and have goals that are largely incompatible with academic lifestyles.
This project is ongoing and will be published here soon!
POWER: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO TALK ABOUT IT
In this five-part series, I clarify discussions of power across centuries and dozens of disciplines, forming a novel framework for understanding and discussing the often misconstrued concept. I demonstrate how this framework aids in discussion of the power of everything from brooches to nuclear weapons, from the United Nations to your local bowling league.
My work provides a conceptualization of power which will change how researchers, politicians, and governments interact with the world. It will teach you how to think about power, how to systematically achieve your goals and prioritize your efforts, and ultimately how you can create change.
power is the ability to create and/or sustain a change from the status quo.
I argue that
1/5
To reach that conclusion, I reviewed thousands of years of scholarship on power, contrasting scholars’ thoughts to find out what it isn’t. Through this, I reveal what power is. I go over this process in the first paper of this series:
My experience as a combat photographer informs how I approach my research and how I communicate it.
When thinking about power, especially in international relations, many often first think of the military. The images shown here represent an array of abilities that allow the military to create change in various environments and with varying resources. Above, U.S. Marines prepare an AH-1Z Viper (the helicopter) for flight. This aircraft provides a unique ability; it’s the only attack helicopter with fully-integrated air-to-air missile capabilities.
Next, I examine the forms of change, manifestations of power. Through an examination of interpersonal and international interactions which demonstrate how power is manifested and exercised and a review of theories of human interaction with outgroups, I develop a system for understanding power. In this paper, I frame power as abilities which manifest through the physical, social, or cultural world.
2/5
Above is a photo of a friend of mine, taken during a training exercise in Alaska. As a Joint Fires Observer, his job was to direct artillery, aircraft, and other long-range fires from the ground. To do this in a real combat scenario, his small team would enter enemy territory, sometimes camping there for days, observing the target location undetected.
3/5
Here, I suggest that international relations scholars shouldn’t just consider findings from writings on interpersonal relations, international relations is interpersonal relations. I discuss the implications for international relations scholars going forward and the disciplinary divides that hinder academic progress in the social sciences.
In this photo, U.S. Marines conduct a ceremony for the Marine Corps Birthday on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Though the ceremony holds no particular significance for Japan (except perhaps the Marine Corps’ involvement in the Pacific Campaign in WWII), the Japanese flag is flown alongside the American and Marine Corps Flags, a symbol of Japanese power.
4/5
In this paper, I build a frame for empirical analysis of power using the theory I’ve developed above. This model not only provides the first step in building comprehensive empirical analyses of power, but demonstrates why power has proven so difficult to measure, and why measures of power have failed to perform reliably across a variety of scenarios.
Here, U.S. Marines showcase their ability to operate small boats during a training exercise. This ability is essential to success in many operations, like intercepting pirates and human traffickers or recovering aerial surveillance systems intentionally downed in the water.
5/5
Using the framework above, I examine power in a case study, the power competition between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea. Though this analysis hardly captures all manifestations of power in this case, it provides a novel look at the abilities great powers use in competition with one another. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a demonstration of the proposed framework for discussing and measuring power in international relations.
Above, pilots prepare to land a cargo plane on a runway on an island in the pacific. The cargo capabilities presented by units like this are vital to the power of the U.S.
