I teach the basic introductory courses in comparative politics, international relations, and American government.
My upper division courses focus on the dynamics of civil war, the politics of Central and South America,
and US-Latin American Relations. If you'd like to learn more about the courses I teach, please follow the Teaching link
on the left.
In terms of research, I am currently involved in two separate projects. My primary research investigates the
transition of insurgent groups to political parties following negotiated settlements to civil war. Currently, this research
combines qualitative and quantitative analyses of two Central American insurgent groups that have undergone such transitions:
the FMLN in El
Salvador and the URNG in Guatemala.
I also work closely with Paul Hensel at the University of North Texas investigating
interstate relations involving territory. We recently presented a paper at APSA that looks at how domestic
constraints impact the likelihood that two states will reach an agreement and that they will implement
that agreement. We are also working on a book project that investigates the relationship between colonial
legacies and territorial conflict as part of the Issue Correlates of War project. Please check the Research tab on the
left for copies of my publications and working papers in these areas.
