CSD Scholars

Olivia Garard - 2022-2023 Scholar

Olivia A. Garard served as an active duty officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2014 to 2020. She is currently investigating to what extent we can understand the phenomenon of warfare through the mind of the commander in Carl von Clausewitz’s On War. She hopes to do the same with The Sunzi. She holds an A.B. in philosophy from Princeton University, a M.A. in war studies from King’s College London, a M.A. in liberal arts from St. John’s College, and is working towards a M.A. in eastern classics from the same. Her first book is An Annotated Guide to Tactics: Carl von Clausewitz’s Theory of the Combat (Marine Corps University Press, 2021). She tweets at @teaandtactics.

Olivia Carroll Beaty - 2020 Scholar

Baylor University

Olivia Carroll Beaty is a current Ph.D. candidate in the political science graduate program at Baylor University. Previously, she has served on Baylor University’s Teaching, Learning, and Technology Committee. Her academic interests include international relations, diplomacy, political communication, the intersection of Christian faith and politics, and political philosophy. She holds an M.A. in political science from Baylor University and a B.A. in political science and communication studies from Lee University.

Samuel Blumenthal - 2020 Scholar

SAIS, Johns Hopkins University

Samuel Blumenthal is a current M.A. candidate in international relations and affairs at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he worked in financial services for several years with Oliver Wyman. He holds a B.A. in international studies and a B.S. in economics, international studies and business from the University of Pennsylvania-The Wharton School.

Jacob Boros - 2020 Scholar

Baylor University

Jacob Boros is a current Ph.D. candidate in political science at Baylor University. His academic interests include American political thought and intellectual history, the intersection of political philosophy and physical/human geography, the history of cartography, and classical political thought. He holds a B.A. in history and politics from St. Vincent College.

Peter Campbell - 2020 Scholar

Rex G. Carr, Jr. - 2020 Scholar

Baylor University

Rex G. Carr, Jr., studies international relations and political theory, with an eye towards wedding theory with practice, such as combining the study of global contests and Nietzsche’s theory of will-to-power. Additional scholarly interests include modern political thought, the intersection of religion and politics, and post-modern international theory. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in political science from Baylor University, and a B.A. in philosophy and political science from the University of Maine.

M.L. deRaismes Combes - 2020 Scholar

Clements Center for National Security, UT Austin

M.L. deRaismes Combes is a postdoctoral fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin. Her academic research is interdisciplinary in nature, including the theoretical underpinnings of international relations, and with a focus on historical roots of identity and colonialism in the practice of contemporary U.S. foreign policy and international security, most especially in the Middle East and South Asia. She holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the School of International Service at American University, an M.A. in international relations and the sociology of conflict, and an AB in French and war and peace studies at Dartmouth College.

Paul Edgar - 2020 Scholar

Clements Center for National Security, UT Austin

Paul Edgar is the associate director of the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin. He studies the historical origins of diplomacy, war, and strategy in pre-classical antiquity. He is also a philologist of several ancient languages. Before entering academia, Edgar served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, and saw service in Korea, Italy, Iraq, and Afghanistan amongst other locations. Edgar holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern languages and cultures from the University of Texas, an M.A. from Tel Aviv University, and a B.S in chemistry from Saint Mary’s University. His writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, Task & Purpose, and Capital Commentary. His forthcoming book deals with the international diplomatic history of the Late Bronze Age.

Zoltan Feher - 2020 Scholar

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Zoltan Feher is a current Ph.D. candidate in international relations at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and a research fellow at the Fletcher Center for Strategic Studies. Concurrently, he is a 2020-2021 World Politics and Statecraft Fellow with the Smith Richardson Foundation. Previously, Feher served as a career diplomat for Hungary, serving as a foreign policy analyst at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and later as Hungary’s deputy ambassador and acting ambassador in Ankara, Turkey. He holds a J.D. from Pazmany Catholic University, an M.A. in public administration from Harvard University, an M.A. in political science and American history from Eotvos Lorand University. His research interests include grand strategy, U.S. foreign policy, European security, Trans-Atlantic relations, Central and Eastern Europe, China and turkey.

Eric Fleury - 2020 Scholar

Connecticut College

Eric Fleury is assistant professor of government and international relations at Connecticut College. His research aims to refine the theoretical analysis of U.S. national security, and his scholarly interests include the formulation of U.S. grand strategy, terrorism and counterterrorism policy, diplomacy, international relations, and U.S. foreign policy. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Baylor University, and a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross. He is the author of Absolute War: Terrorism and the Logic of Armed Conflict (Lexington Books: 2019).

David J. Guenni B. - 2020 Scholar

Missouri State University

David J. Guenni B. is a current M.S. candidate in the graduate department of defense and strategic studies at Missouri State University. Additionally, he is the Dr. William R. Van Cleave Fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. His research focuses on the influence of trans-regional threat networks on national security policy in Latin American and the Caribbean. He holds a licentiate degree in sociology from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela.

Ashlyn W. Hand - 2020 Scholar

Clements Center for National Security, UT Austin

Ashlyn W. Hand is a current Ph.D. candidate in public policy and a graduate fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, she is a predoctoral fellow at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Her research focuses on the intersection of U.S. foreign policy and religion and considers the role of human rights promotion in American grand strategy. Her work has been published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution and in Foreign Policy. Hand holds an M.A. in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin and a B.S. in public relations from UT Austin.

Michael C. Hawley - 2020 Scholar

Duke University

Michael C. Hawley is a postdoctoral fellow and Managing Director of the Duke Program in American Values and Institutions. He specializes in political theory, and religion and politics, with current research interests including theories of rhetoric, Roman and early modern political thought, Islamic and Christian political philosophy, and modern just war theory. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in political science from Duke University, and a B.A. in political science from Tufts University. He was a 2020 appointee to the Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and has served as a visiting assistant professor and postdoctoral research fellow at Bowdoin College and the University of Notre Dame, respectively.

His work has been published in the Journal of Politics, Polis, History of European Ideas, Polity, and the European Journal of Political Theory. He is the author of Natural Law Republicanism: Cicero’s Liberal Legacy (Oxford University Press: forthcoming).

Thomas Jamison - 2020 Scholar

Naval Postgraduate School

Thomas Jamison is assistant professor of strategic studies in the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. Previously, he has held a predoctoral fellowship at the Clements Center for National Security. He has served as a Defense Intelligence Agency staff officer in both the Western Pacific and Afghanistan, and as the intelligence officer in a Japan-based Navy F/A-18 squadron. His scholarly work explores the history of naval development and conflict in the Pacific, with an emphasis on technological shifts and institutional adaption. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in International History from Harvard University, and a B.A. in history from Grinnell College. His work has been published in the Journal of Military History and in Intelligence and National Security.

Shay Khatiri - 2020 Scholar

SAIS, Johns Hopkins University

Shay Khatiri is a current M.A. candidate in strategic studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a B.A. in political science and U.S. history from Arizona State University. He also serves as a data analyst with C&O Resources.

Philip Mayne - 2020 Scholar

University of Hull

Philip Mayne is a current Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hull, where he has taught courses on international security and defense policy. Additionally, he is an active member of the Hull University War Studies Research Group. His academic interests include the relationship between ethics and strategy, the just war tradition, and counterinsurgency. His work has been published in the Huffington Post and Strife.

James R. Pritchett - 2020 Scholar

University of Hull

James R. Pritchett is a lecturer in war studies at the University of Hull. His research revolves around strategic theory and the intellectual history of military thought, including the strategic history of the British Empire, the First World War, and counterinsurgency. Pritchett holds a Ph.D. in war studies from the University of Hull.

Will Quinn - 2020 Scholar

SAIS, Johns Hopkins University

Will Quinn is a current Ph.D. candidate at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he served as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He has also worked in strategic communications for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. His work and research interests focus on defense policy, strategy, and oversight of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Northern Command, and U.S. Southern Command, among others. He holds an M.A. in international relations with a concentration in strategic studies from SAIS, and a B.A. in history from Harvard College.

Stephen Sims - 2020 Scholar

Rochester Institute of Technology

Stephen Sims is assistant professor in the department of political science at Rochester Institute of Technology. His teaching and research interests include international political thought, law and society, and grand strategy. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Baylor University, and a B.A. from Thomas Aquinas College. His work has appeared in the Journal of International Political Theory.

Julian G. Waller - 2020 Scholar

George Washington University

Julian G. Waller is a current Ph.D. candidate in political science at George Washington University and an associate research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. Additionally, Waller is a non-resident fellow with the Illiberalism Studies Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Previously, he has served as a visiting researcher at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and a visiting scholar at the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS). His research interests include political parties and parliaments in electoral authoritarianism, hybrid regimes, democratization, and post-Soviet politics. He holds an M.A. in political science and a B.A. in international affairs from George Washington University. His work has been published in the International Journal of Constitutional Law, Russland-Analysen, and Russian Analytical Digest.

Charles U. Zug - 2020 Scholar

 Williams College

Charles U. Zug is a visiting assistant professor in political science and leadership studies at Williams College. His research focuses on public law and American political development, with an emphasis the interaction of demagoguery and populism and American political institutions. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in government from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from St. John’s College. His writings have appeared in peer-reviewed journals as well as popular-press outlets, including in The Journal of Law and Courts (forthcoming), The Monkey Cage Blog at The Washington Post, The Austin American-Statesman, and others.