Asst. Professor. Alum @Columbia, @StanfordCISAC, @ClementsCenter, @perryworldhouse. IR, civ-mil, tech. Star Wars, coffee, dogs. He/him. Personal account.
In @ForeignAffairs, I argue the Senate standoff over Defense Department nominations forces an overreliance on acting officials, politicizes the military promotions process, & threatens to undermine civilian control over the armed forces. (1/12) Link: https://t.co/kSTG3bXfgW
To counter these risks, politically appointed civilians must be willing to step in to take questions that will prevent military officers from being caught in partisan crossfire & help insulate them from partisan politics when called to testify. (7/7) https://t.co/vEJOm7ySDs
When Congress conducts oversight over defense policy, whom does it call to testify? In @TXNatSecReview , @jblankshain, @DerekSReveron, & I present a new dataset of over 6,500 witness appearances between 1975 & 2016 to explore how Congress exercises control over the military (1/7)
The first article of Volume 8, Issue 2 is here! Read about what Blankshain (@jblankshain), Milonopoulos (@MilonopoulosT), and Reveron (@DerekSReveron) call "Congress’s underappreciated role in exercising civilian control over the armed forces." https://t.co/tnrAnbiSlI
Even if the frequency of testimony by military officers has not changed, hearings have become politically charged settings. The enduring presence of officers at hearings raises the risk that uniformed personnel could be lured into partisan waters during routine testimony (6/7)
@ProfSaunders @mkguliford Given how disappointed @mkguliford was in what she described as Luke’s whininess, R2-D2’s excessive labor to save everybody, and the Empire’s sclerotic procurement and acquisitions process, I’m sure it will get much higher reviews!
Delighted to share a new article in @ForeignAffairs by me and Jeff Friedman challenging the idea that presidential elections are all about "the economy, stupid." In 2024, as in the past, foreign policy is shaping the campaign - and vice versa: https://t.co/IP7Mz8gJx7
In the next issue of @ForeignAffairs, I argue that crises can cross red lines and climb the escalation ladder, but leaders typically don’t stumble into inadvertent wars that they do not intend to fight. (1/11)
https://t.co/zM7wBRKpBq
@KaurinShanks @RisaBrooks12 @HeidiAUrben Also gets complicated imo by the fact that active duty officers have held civilian roles (i.e. Powell & McMaster as Nat'l Security Advisor) where they would be bound not just by DoD regulation but also Hatch Act (as would any political appointee while in office) 2/3
@KaurinShanks Fascinating set of questions that speaks to this recent work by @RisaBrooks12, Mike Robinson, & @HeidiAUrben on conflicting views of retired GOFOs on participation in partisan politics post-retirement. (1/3) https://t.co/It2plLqpT3