Latest Publications
To Engage or to Contain? Canada-Russia Relations in the Shifting International Order
The Palgrave Handbook of Canada in International Affairs
From the conclusion: "Historically, Canada’s relationship with Russia has seen much acrimony. And yet, antagonism towards Russia was never absolute. Whether in the 1920s or the 1970s, Canadian leaders have consistently seen in Russia key opportunities to engage in international cooperation. Canada may at present be a leader in current defence and deterrence initiatives aimed at preventing Russian aggression, but if history is any guide, Canadian leaders may believe that more conciliatory policies are desirable."
About Me
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and in the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo. I am also the Ernest Bevin Associate Fellow of Euro-Atlantic Geopolitics at the newly created Council on Geostrategy. I was previously a Lecturer in the Department of International Politics at City, University of London, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College, and a Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT's Security Studies Program. I completed my doctorate in the Department of Politics at Princeton University in 2014.
My research addresses issues in alliance politics, nuclear strategy, and theories of war, and has appeared in International Security, Security Studies, International Affairs, and elsewhere. My books include Atomic Assurance: The Alliance Politics of Nuclear Proliferation (Cornell, 2018) and Military Alliances in the Twenty-first Century (Polity, 2022). I have done work on East Asia but Europe is my primary regional focus, with special emphasis on Central and Northeastern Europe. I have two places that I consider home: Windsor-Detroit and Krakow, Poland.
On this website, you will find information about my books, monographs, and published articles as well as information on my academic research, teaching, and commentary.
LATEST NEWS
NEW CoG ESSAY
7 JUNE 2021
I co-authored a piece with James Rogers for the Council on Geostrategy's Britain's World on how sanctions might, with time, dislodge Lukashenka from power in Belarus. You may read it here.
MONKEY CAGE ESSAY
25 MAY 2021
In the aftermath of the Ryanair FR4978 hijacking, I wrote a short essay that examines the European Union's record in sanctioning Belarus for its human rights abuses here.
ESSAY RESPONSE
13 MAY 2021
In an essay called "On the Risk Posed by Deepfakes," I respond to Adam Garfinkle's piece on deepfakes for Inference. You may access it freely here.
What I am reading now
Marlene Laruelle's Is Russia Fascist? is a fascinating study of illiberalism in Russia's politics and society. Her admonition against throwing the label 'fascist' around too easily is an important one in light of today's increasingly polarised political climate.
