I am an assistant professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University, where I am also a member of the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies. My research focuses on civil-military relations, military effectiveness, defense policy, deterrence and escalation, and Persian Gulf security issues. My most recent book is ​The Dictator's Army: Battlefield Effectiveness in Authoritarian Regimes (Cornell University Press, 2015). I am currently writing a book on the risk of nuclear escalation in conventional wars.

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Header image:  children playing on a captured M41 in Hue, Vietnam