Why did some states successfully avoid conquest by European empires? Logan Cochrane’s new, co-edited volume tackles this puzzle.
6+1 Questions about Resilient Statehood
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Publications
On Indigenous Political Thought in Video Games
In something of a departure from my typical work, I recently published an article in International Political Sociology on Indigenous political thought in video games. As some of my prior...
What’s at Stake in the Indigenous Empire Debate
I have a new open-access article out in Global Studies Quarterly, “What’s at Stake in the Indigenous Empire Debate,” in which I argue against historian Pekka Hämäläinen’s claims that the Comanche...
6+1 Questions about Exit from International Organizations
What is the name of the book and what are its coordinates? The book is Exit from International Organizations: Costly Negotiation for Institutional Change. It was published in June 2025 by Cambridge...
More Publications Posts
6+1 Questions About “The Social Construction of Christian Persecution through Quantification in International Religious Freedom Advocacy”
What is the name of the journal article (or book) and what are its coordinates? Miray Philips. 2025. “The Social Construction of Christian Persecution through Quantification in International Religious Freedom Advocacy.” Sociology of Religion. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/sraf022 2. What’s the argument? In Washington, DC, International Religious Freedom advocates mostly rely on data by the Pew Research Center on religious restrictions and Open Doors on Christian persecution. Citing this data, they draw a conclusion that Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide. This...
6+1 Questions about American Conquest: The Northwest Indian War and the Making of US Foreign Policy
What’s the name of the book, and where can we find it? American Conquest: The Northwest Indian War and the Making of US Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2025). What’s the argument? Relations with Native American groups were constitutive of early U.S. foreign policy, and this should make us reconsider the notion that the United States was isolationist in this period. Moreover, the first U.S. war with Native American groups, the Northwest Indian War of 1790-1795, has its origins in the social networks connecting settlers to political elites, and the legacies of the war linger in the...
6+1 Questions about “The U.S.: A (Mostly) Hands-Off Superpower”
Drew Hogan answers 6+1 questions about how the United States does, and does not, support its overseas citizens.
6+1 Questions about Waging War with Gold: National Security and the Finance Domain Across the Ages
Charles A. Dainoff, Robert M. Farley, and Geoffrey F. Williams answer questions about their new book
6+1 Questions about “Race, Shaming, and International Human Rights”
Can human-rights organizations avoid accusations of racism when they criticize certain governments? Can they avoid fueling racism? Zoltán I. Búzás and Lotem Bassan-Nygate test the effectiveness of tactics to counter racism when trying to shame perpetrators.
The Classroom and the Magic Circle
I wrote a chapter for a newly published edited volume, Teaching Political Science and International Relations for Early Career Instructors. The volume itself, capably edited by Michael P.A. Murphy and Misbah Hyder, is indeed concerned primarily with providing guidance for “Early Career Instructors” (ECIs) ranging from Ph.D. students to tenure-track faculty members. I was asked to write about mentorship for ECIs—given the challenges one faces in the classroom, how can mentors support ECIs? My chapter, “Teaching in Context,” argues against the idea that there is one “right” way to teach any...
6+1 Questions about “The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes”
What is the name of the journal article (or book) and what are its coordinates? What is the name of the journal article (or book) and what are its coordinates? “The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes” is available in FirstView at Perspectives on Politics. What’s the argument? The more money autocracies make from producing oil and gas, the fewer steps they take to reduce emissions. So it’s no surprise that the United Arab Emirates tried to strike new oil and gas deals when it hosted last year’s climate talks or that Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s talks,...
6 + 1 Questions about “Compliance in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights”
1. What is the name of the article and what are its coordinates? Aníbal Pérez-Liñán and Angie García Atehortúa. 2024. “Oversight Hearings, Stakeholder Engagement, and Compliance in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.” International Organization. 2. What’s the argument? Compliance with international law is hardly guaranteed. International bodies can secure greater compliance with their decisions by requesting regular reports from relevant states, bringing non-governmental organizations into the supervision process, and holding regular hearings to oversee the implementation of their...