Defense Analysis Department Chair,  Dr. Michael E. Freeman

Dr. Carter Malkasian, Defense Analysis, 黑料吃瓜网, Monterey, CA

Michael Freeman is a professor in the Department of Defense Analysis. He is the author of Freedom or Security: The Consequences for Democracies Using Emergency Powers to Fight Terror (Praeger, 2003), the editor of Financing Terrorism: Case Studies (Ashgate 2012), the author of The Global Spread of Salafism (University of Nebraska, 2021), as well as the author of several journal articles and book chapters on terrorism, emergency powers, and terrorist financing. He is also the designer of nine online, 鈥渟erious鈥� games on terrorism and counterterrorism. In 2014, he was the recipient of NPS鈥檚 Hamming Award in recognition of his excellence in teaching and engagement with students. While at NPS, he was Chair of the Faculty Council (2017), Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs (2018-2021), and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (2021-2022).

Faculty

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Chad Machiela
Faculty Associate - Research
 Special Operations, CORE Lab
M.A. Science, Naval Postgradaute School
chad.machiela@nps.edu

Chad Machiela is a retired Army Special Forces Warrant Officer with over 30 years鈥� Special Operations experience working throughout the Indo-Pacific, Central, and European Commands. He has employed CORE Laboratory methodology to build dark networks, expose dark networks, and develop civil-military resilience networks in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Mali, and Thailand. Chad holds an MS in Defense Analysis from the 黑料吃瓜网 and graduate certificates in Security and Governance from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and Project Management from Fayetteville State University.

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Professor
Ph.D., School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, 1987
gmccormick@nps.edu
A variety of models for understanding insurgency and planning the counterinsurgency (COIN) response have been developed. One model that has become respected both in academic and military context is the "Magic Diamond" model developed by Dr. Gordon McCormick. The model involved four key elements or players, with mirrored strategies for their interactions. Each element will have a "mirrored" strategy, in which the way in which it imposes or aids insurgency is one image, and where the way that it interacts with counterinsurgency is the reflection. This model develops a symmetrical view of the required actions for both the Insurgent and COIN forces to achieve success. In this way the counterinsurgency model can demonstrate how both the insurgent and COIN forces succeed or fail. The model's strategies and principle apply to both forces, therefore the degree the forces follow the model should have a direct correlation to the success or failure of either the Insurgent or COIN force.  

Michael Mollohan
Faculty Associate - Research
Expertise: Irregular Warfare Education
Ph.D., Education & Organizational Leadership (Current Doctoral Student), 2022
michael.mollohan@nps.edu
Mr. Mollohan is the lead for Regional Defense Fellowship Program Evaluation team at the 黑料吃瓜网 Defense Analysis Department focused on Irregular Warfare curriculum development, evaluation, and operationalization. Prior to his current position, Michael served as the regional security and policy advisor for the SOJ3-International, Special Operations Command Pacific. His area of responsibilities included the design, development, and execution of multinational Special Operations Forces (SOF) and related security sector education and cooperation. Michael is a retired Marine Corps Foreign Area Officer with more than 35 years of combined active duty and civilian service. He served as a military professor, senior service advisor for the Marine Corps, course director and co-lead on the counter-terrorism program for the Daniel K. Inouye, Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS). While on active duty he had the privilege of serving in several countries as a military advisor and operations officer including assignments as a peacekeeper and the United Nations Operations Officer in the Republic of Georgia during the crisis of 2008-2009. As a military professor and senior lecturer, Michael has conducted research and executive education programs for senior decision makers to operational leaders from numerous U.S. and Partner Nation security practitioner and academic organizations across the interagency, public and private sector. His areas of research and lecturing interest include Irregular Warfare and Security Education, Southeast Asia, Russia and the Former Soviet Union, Combatting Terrorism, Resiliency and Crises, Resistance and Global Power Competition. A current doctoral student completing his dissertation in SOF Education and Leadership, he also holds master鈥檚 degrees in National Security from the 黑料吃瓜网) and Business from Troy State University and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Political Science, Russia and the Former Soviet Union). LINKEDIN PROFILE

Siamak Tundra Naficy
Senior Lecturer
Expertise: Anthropology
Ph.D., Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2010
stnaficy@nps.edu; siamaknaficy@yahoo.com
310-849-3633
An anthropologist (PhD at UCLA, 2010) with a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary approach to social, biological, psychological, and cultural issues. Interests range from the anthropological approach to conflict theory to sacred values, wicked problems, cognitive science, and animal behavior. PUBLICATIONS 1) Barbarism Begins at Home /web/ecco/global-ecco-insights  2) "Towards an Anthropology of Delinquency (Feared and Revered)" chrome extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj//documents/110773463/137155527/CTX-VOL1202-Feared+and+Reveared+.pdf    3) "A Ukrainian State of Mind" https://warontherocks.com/2022/04/a-ukrainian-state-of-mind/  4) "Anti-Strategy (Why the U.S. is on the Brink of All-Out War with Iran" https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2020/02/20/why-the-u-s-is-on-the-brink-of-all-out-war-with-iran/ 

Wayne Porter
Senior Lecturer, CAPT USN (ret)
Expertise: Co-Director, CORE Lab, Director, Littoral Operations Center
Ph.D., Information Science, 黑料吃瓜网,
nwporter@nps.edu
831-747-0998
Dr. Wayne Porter, CAPT, USN (ret), is a Senior Lecturer in the Defense Analysis and Systems Engineering Departments of the 黑料吃瓜网, where he also serves as Co- Director of the CORE Lab and Director of the Littoral Operations Center. He holds a Ph.D in Information Sciences and two Masters of Science degrees 鈥� in Computer Science and Joint C4I Systems Technology - from the 黑料吃瓜网. Military duty included Japan, England, Italy, the Balkans, Bahrain (COMFIFTHFLT ACOS Intelligence and MOC Deputy of Operations in the Persian Gulf/East Africa), and three tours on the personal staff of ADM Mike Mullen, including Special Assistant for Strategy to both the Chief of Naval Operations (N00Z) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He subsequently served as Chair, Systemic Strategy and Complexity at 黑料吃瓜网 in Monterey, California and retired from the Navy in July 2014 after 28 years of active service. Dr. Porter was hired as a faculty member at NPS in 2015 and in 2017 he provided systems analysis for the SECNAV鈥檚 Strategic Readiness Review. While working for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Mullen, CAPT Porter co-authored, with Colonel Mark Mykleby, 鈥淎 National Strategic Narrative.鈥� Published by the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars a National Strategic Narrative was subsequently cited Pulitzer Award winning author Tom Friedman, CNN commentator Fareed Zakaria, former UK Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband, former Foreign Minister of Israel Shlomo Ben Ami, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan among many others (www.nationalstrategicnarrative.org). His articles have appeared in Connections (social network analysis journal), The Center for International Maritime Security website, The Homeland Security Affairs Journal, Grounded Theory Review, Harvard Business Review, Journal of American Foreign Policy Interests, The HotSpring Quarterly, the Washington Times, two OSD/JS White Papers, Naval Institute Proceedings, and the 8th Euromicro Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Processing. Dr Porter contributed the chapter, The Value of System Dynamics Modeling in Policy Analytics and Planning in the textbook, Policy Analytics, Modelling, and Informatics: Innovative Tools for Solving Complex Social Problems, Springer Publishing (2018). Wayne鈥檚 doctoral dissertation was an action research case study in which he used system dynamics to model the Steinbeck Innovation Cluster strategy he helped develop linking the technology and innovation of Silicon Valley with the agriculture and aquaculture industries of Monterey County, California and the Salinas Valley. Articles describing concepts of that strategy have appeared in the Financial Times and Forbes Magazine. Dr. Porter was recently named a Lifetime Achiever by Marquis鈥� Who鈥檚 Who in America. His civilian and military awards include the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Vice Admiral Rufus B. Taylor Award for Professional Excellence in Naval Intelligence, the Defense Superior Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, and the NATO Meritorious Service Medal. Dr Porter is a former 鈥淲alton Fellow鈥� at Arizona State University鈥檚 Global Institute of Sustainability.   PUBLICATIONS Connections (Social Network Analysis Journal), The Center for International Maritime Security website, The Homeland Security Affairs Journal, Grounded Theory Review, Harvard Business Review, Journal of American Foreign Policy Interests, The HotSpring Quarterly, the Washington Times, two OSD/JS White Papers, Naval Institute Proceedings, and the 8th Euromicro Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Processing. Dr Porter contributed the chapter, The Value of System Dynamics Modeling in Policy Analytics and Planning in the textbook, Policy Analytics, Modelling, and Informatics: Innovative Tools for Solving Complex Social Problems, Springer Publishing (2018).

Ian Rice
Senior Lecturer
Expertise: Helping Defense Analysis students achieve their academic, career, and life goals.

ian.rice@nps.edu
Ian Rice is a retired United States Army officer. He has primarily served with or in support of special operations forces during his career. He has been stationed overseas in Germany, Okinawa, and Korea as well he has deployed for 45 months between Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently, he led the United States Mission to Iraq鈥檚 Sunni trial engagement effort in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve in 2016-2017. From 2013 through 2018, he served as an active-duty faculty member in the Defense Analysis Department. He is a 2003 graduate of Defense Analysis and he is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of California Los Angeles. Ian has taught sections of 鈥淐onflict in the Information Age,鈥� 鈥淧sychological Operations and Deception,鈥� 鈥淭he History of Special Operations,鈥� and 鈥淢ilitary Organization and Technological Change.鈥� He is also interested in developing courses on conflict-based state-building and the dynamics of combined operations namely security force assistance and military advising. Ian's most notable publication with Craig Whiteside, 鈥淏lack Ops: Islamic State and Innovation in Irregular Warfare鈥� is being developed into a book regarding the concepts and capabilities of special operations conducted by non-state actors.  

Robert Schroeder
Faculty Associate - Research
Expertise: Social Network Analysis, Visual Analytics, Maritime Network Analysis, Social Media Analysis, Geospatial Analysis
M.A., International Policy Analysis, Monterey Institute of International Studies, 2011
rcschroe@nps.edu
Rob Schroeder is a Faculty Associate for Research in the CORE Lab within the Defense Analysis Department and a PhD Student in the Information Sciences Department at the 黑料吃瓜网 (NPS). He is currently researching how to use open source information gathered largely from social media in order to understand and map the changing dynamics in conflict areas and exploring the use of network analysis to analyze maritime traffic patterns. He has presented some of this research at conferences (INFORMS and INSNA). PUBLICATIONS Everton, S., Everton, T., Green, A. et al. Strong ties and where to find them: or, why Neville and Bellatrix might be more important than Harry and Tom. Soc. Netw. Anal. Min. 12, 112 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-022-00947-z Everton, S. F., & Schroeder, R. (2019). Plagues, Pagans, and Christians: Differential Survival, Social Networks, and the Rise of Christianity. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 58(4), 775鈥�789. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12631 Porter, W., Schroeder, R., Callaghan, C., Barreto, A., Bussell, S., Young, B., 鈥� Eiff, J. Von. (2019). Mapping Gray Maritime Networks. Connections, 39(1), 1鈥�12. https://doi.org/10.21307/connections-2019-006 Freeman, L. A., Schroeder, R., & Everton, S. F. (2017). Social Media Exploitation by Covert Networks: A Case Study of ISIS. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 41, 97鈥�120. https://doi.org/10.17705/1cais.04105 Schroeder, R., Everton, S. F., & Shepherd, R. (2014). The Strength of Tweet Ties. In N. Agarwal, M. Lim, & R. T. Wigand (Eds.), Online Collective Action (pp. 179鈥�195). Springer Vienna. Schroeder, R., Everton, S. F., & Shepherd, R. (2012). Mining twitter data from the Arab Spring. Combating Terrorism Exchange, 2(4), 54鈥�64.

Rebecca Smith
Faculty Associate - Research
Expertise: Export Control and Related Border Security; Regional Cooperation Agreements

rksmit1@nps.edu
Rebecca Smith is a Faculty Associate with the Department of Defense Analysis in the Graduate School of Operational and Information Sciences. Ms. Smith鈥檚 primary responsibilities include the planning and execution of a Border Security short course series in support of Department of State鈥檚 Export and Related Border Security Program. Prior to joining the Department of Defense Analysis, Ms. Smith served as a member of the Partnership for Peace Training and Education Center Program Office staff, leveraging the full capabilities of NPS to develop and execute a variety of programs in support of its prevention of conflict mission. Her professional background includes over 20 years in law, case management, research and application, and financial roles. Ms. Smith graduated magna cum laude from Columbia College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management.

Michael Stevens
Faculty Associate - Research
Expertise: Defense Analysis

mrsteven@nps.edu
(831) 656-2932
 

Barry Strauss
Visiting Professor
Expertise: Defense Analysis

barry.strauss@nps.edu
 

Bradley "BJ" Strawser
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Expertise: Ethics, Applied Ethics, Organizational Ethics, Just War Theory, Ethics of War and the Military Profession, Ethics of New and Emerging Technology
Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Connecticut, 2012
bjstraws@nps.edu
719 440 5670
I am an Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Defense Analysis Department at the 黑料吃瓜网 in Monterey, CA. I am also a Research Associate at Oxford University鈥檚 Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict (ELAC) in Oxford, UK. Prior to my current positions, I was a Resident Research Fellow at the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership in Annapolis, MD. I previously taught philosophy at the University of Connecticut and the US Air Force Academy. My publication and research profile is intentionally broad and I aim for my work to have interdisciplinary relevance and application. I have published primarily in applied ethics and ethics more broadly, but also in political philosophy, metaphysics, Plato, and human rights, among other areas. Some of these publications have appeared in such peer-reviewed journals as Analysis, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Philosophia, Journal of Military Ethics, Public Affairs Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, and Epoch茅. I鈥檝e published multiple books with Oxford University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, and Routledge. I have also written widely in popular media such as the New York Times, the Guardian, 3 Quarks Daily, War on the Rocks, among other outlets, and I have appeared on multiple local and national NPR affiliates, the BBC World Service, and other media outlets. PERSONAL WEBSITE   PUBLICATIONS  The Bounds of Defense: Killing, Moral Responsibility, and War (Oxford University Press, in production, March 2023). Outsourcing Duty: The Moral Exploitation of the American Soldier, with Michael Robillard (Oxford University Press, February 2022). Who Should Die? The Ethics of Killing in War, with Ryan Jenkins and Michael Robillard (Oxford University Press, 2017). Binary Bullets: The Ethics of Cyberwar, with Adam Henschke and Fritz Allhoff (Oxford University Press, 2016). Killing bin Laden: A Moral Analysis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). Responsibilities to Protect: Perspectives in Theory and Practice, with David Whetham (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2015). Military Ethics and Emerging Technologies, with Timothy J. Demy and George R. Lucas (Routledge, 2014). Opposing Perspectives on the Drone Debate (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). Killing By Remote Control: The Ethics of an Unmanned Military (Oxford University Press, May 2012). "The Supererogatory Moral Risks of Military Service," Individualization of War Project, forthcoming from Oxford University Press. 鈥淩eview Essay of In Defense of Gun Control by Hugh LaFollette,鈥� with Bart Kennedy, Criminal Law and Philosophy, April 2021. 鈥淭he Moral Exploitation of Soldiers,鈥� with Michael Robillard, Public Affairs Quarterly 30, no. 2 (April 2016): 171 鈥� 196. 鈥淎utonomous Machines, Moral Judgment, and Acting for the Right Reasons,鈥� with Duncan Purves and Ryan Jenkins, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 18, no. 4 (August 2015): 851-872. 鈥淎ssessment, Proportionality, and Justice in War,鈥� with Russell Muirhead, in Assessing War: The Challenge of Measuring Success and Failure, edited by Leo J. Blanken, Jason J. Lepore, and Hy Rothstein (Georgetown University Press, 2015). 鈥淢oral Cyber Weapons,鈥� with Dorothy E. Denning, in The Ethics of Information Warfare, edited by Luciano Floridi and Mariarosaria Taddeo (Springer Philosophy & Engineering Technology Series, April 2014). 鈥淎ctive Cyber Defense: Applying Air Defense to the Cyber Domain,鈥� with Dorothy E. Denning, in Cyber Analogies, edited by John Arquilla and Emily O. Goldman, Technical Report sponsored by United States Cyber Command, (Monterey, CA: Department of Defense Information Operations Center for Research, 黑料吃瓜网, 2014). 鈥淒efensive Interrogational Torture and Epistemic Limitations鈥� Public Affairs Quarterly, Vol 27, no. 4 (October 2013): 311-340. 鈥淩evisionist Just War Theory and the Real World: A Cautiously Optimistic Proposal,鈥� in Routledge Handbook of Ethics and War: Just War in the 21st Century, edited by Fritz Allhoff, Adam Henschke, & Nick Evans, (Routledge Press, 2013). Guest Editor: Journal of Military Ethics, Vol. 12, no. 1, 2013; Special Issue: 鈥淐yberwar and Ethics.鈥� 鈥淲alking the Tightrope of Just War,鈥� Analysis 71 (July 2011): 533-544. 鈥淢oral Predators: The Duty to Employ Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles,鈥� Journal of Military Ethics 9, no. 4 (December 2010): 342-368. 鈥淩ea鈥檚 Revenge and the Persistent Problem of Persistence for Realism,鈥� Philosophia 39, no. 2 (May 2011): 375-391. 鈥淭hose Frightening Men: A New Interpretation of Plato鈥檚 Battle of Gods and Giants,鈥� Epoche 16, no. 2 (Spring 2012): 217 鈥� 232. 鈥淭he Normative Structure of Human Rights: a review of James Griffin鈥檚 On Human Rights,鈥� (essay-length review article), Journal of Human Rights 10, no. 1, (February 2011): 112-119. 鈥淎 Review of James Griffin鈥檚 On Human Rights,鈥� (with Paul Bloomfield), Analysis 71, no. 1 (2011): 195 鈥� 197.

Kristen Tsolis
Lecturer
M.A. International Policy Studies, Middlebury Institute, 1999
ktsolis@nps.edu
Kristen Tsolis is Director of the RoboDojo, an NPS open community venue where 鈥渢inkerers鈥� of all abilities can explore and learn more about robotics and electronics. NPS students and faculty use the RoboDojo for higher-resolution prototyping of their concepts in response to design challenges. She is also a Lecturer in the Department of Defense Analysis, leads geospatial analysis-related research in the CORE Lab, and is working with robots and sensors in order to collect structured data for analytical purposes. Kristen holds a Masters in International Policy Studies and is currently pursuing her PhD in Software Engineering. She was a Visiting Scholar with the Computer Security Response Team (CERT/CC) and teaches "Geospatial and Temporal Aspects of Dark Networks", "Computer Networking", "Systems Analysis and Design" and co-teaches "Computer Network Attack and Defense."  

John Tullius
Faculty Associate (Instruction)
Expertise: Defense Analysis, Intelligence, Terrorism
Ph.D., University of Oregon Political Science, 1997
jdtulliu@nps.edu
831-346-9022
Mr. John Tullius retired from the CIA in 2019 after serving three years as the Agency鈥檚 faculty Representative to NPS from 2016, when he intelligence-related classes on Covert Action, HUMINT, CPWMD and International Terrorism.  Prior to his retirement, John held a variety of positions, including managing China S&T analysis, working overseas as the Iranian nuclear expert, managing a group of big data analysts, and then managing OSE鈥檚 bureaus in Europe and the Middle East during the Arab Spring, emergence of foreign fighters, and ISIS. John is also a Senior Vice President for Grist Mill Exchange, a company that provides unique commercially available datasets to government agencies. He is also a senior advisor to Orbis Operations, where he has helped a friendly foreign government develop a large OSINT and analytic department. Retired CIA 2019 after serving in a variety of positions: CIA Faculty Rep to NPS from 2016-2019: taught intel classes and helped build programs to increase student access to cutting edge technologies. Open Source Enterprise Bureau Chief (2014-2016) while living in the region, responsible for all of Middle East and North Africa coverage, including ISIS, and the wars in Iraq and Syria. Open Source Enterprise Bureau Chief (2010-14), responsible for all of European coverage during the Arab Spring, Syria, and the emergence of the foreign fighter problem. Deputy Group Chief (2007-2010) of the Directorate of Intelligence's Analytic Methodology Group, which applied Big Data, Social Network Analysis, Geospatial, and other unique methods to solve complex problems. Iran Nuclear Expert (2005-2007). Living in Europe, worked with a U.S. Mission to collect and analyze Iranian nuclear developments. China proliferation and S&T analytic manager and senior analyst tracking China's emerging S&T prowess and defense industrial modernization. Military Experience: Infantry Officer, Oregon National Guard, 1990-1997   PUBLICATIONS Putin Likely Didn鈥檛 Plan on Publicly Available Information in his War in Ukraine, The Cipher Brief, March 15 2022 Implications of the Diffusion of Commercially Available Technologies on the Conduct of Sensitive Operations, Strategic Latency Unleashed: The Role of Technology in a Revisionist Global Order and the Implications for Special Operations Forces, Editors: Zachary S. Davis, Frank Gac, Christopher Rager, Phillip Reiner, and Jennifer Snow, 2021 Developing Analytic Capabilities, The Conduct of Intelligence in Democracies: Processes, Practices,Cultures, ed. Matei and Halladay, 2019


Assistant Professor
Expertise: Technology and International Security, Coercion and Competition, Security Studies, IR Theory
Ph.D., Political Science, George Washington University, 2015
tvolpe1@nps.edu
Tristan A. Volpe is an assistant professor in the Defense Analysis Department at the 黑料吃瓜网 (NPS), where he studies how technology shapes coercion, cooperation, and competition among nations. He is also a nonresident fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). His most recent book, Leveraging Latency: How the Weak Compel the Strong with Nuclear Technology, was published with Oxford University Press in 2023. Prior to NPS, Dr. Volpe was a fellow at Carnegie (2015-2017) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2013-2015). He received degrees in political science from the George Washington University (Ph.D.) and the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.). PUBLICATIONS Book: Tristan A. Volpe, Leveraging Latency: How the Weak Compel the Strong with Nuclear Technology (Oxford University Press, 2023) Recent Articles: Nicholas L. Miller and Tristan A. Volpe, 鈥淭he Rise of the Autocratic Nuclear Marketplace,鈥� Journal of Strategic Studies, April 3, 2022, 1鈥�39, https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2022.2052725 ; Eric Brewer, Nicholas L. Miller, and Tristan Volpe, 鈥淯kraine Won鈥檛 Ignite a Nuclear Scramble: Why Russia鈥檚 War Might Boost Nonproliferation,鈥� Foreign Affairs, November 17, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/ukraine-wont-ignite-nuclear-scramble  PERSONAL WEBSITE


Assistant Professor
Expertise: Qualitative Methods, International Security, Conflict Processes, Ethnic Politics, Statistical Methods, and Computational Modeling
Ph.D., Political Science, Duke University, 2008
tcwarren@nps.edu
Prior to arriving in Monterey, I served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the International Conflict Research (ICR) group and the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) at ETH Zurich, and at Princeton鈥檚 Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance, after graduating with a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University, with concentrations in International Relations and Quantitative Methods. My research focuses on the study of international security, conflict processes, ethnic politics, statistical methods, and computational modeling. I am particularly interested in building new linkages between micro- and macro-level evidence in the study of armed conflict, both within and between states. My first book project, The Breakdown of Peace, examines the political economy of symbolic national attachments and the emergence of domestic mass violence. The central argument is that the political pursuit of violent fragmentation is less likely to succeed in countries with strong mass media structures, because such structures generate opportunities for political entrepreneurs to successfully deploy inclusive mobilizational appeals on a national scale. This framework thus endogenizes the emergence of intra-state security dilemmas, by describing the structural conditions under which divided group loyalties are more likely to emerge. It also overturns much of the conventional wisdom concerning the relationship between media and collective violence by demonstrating that mass communication networks, which have frequently been blamed for stoking inter-group animosities, can actually serve as powerful forces for domestic peace and stability. Concurrently, I am also developing independent and collaborative projects on alliance formation, nationalism, war severity, and the emergence of the modern state system.

Amelia Weld
Faculty Associate - Research
Expertise: Global ECCO, Strategic/Serious Games, Partnership Building

amsimune@nps.edu
831-656-6297
Amelia Weld is a Faculty Associate for Research with the GlobalECCO project funded by the Regional Defense Fellowship Program. She is an experienced strategic gaming facilitator, content creator, and alumni engagement specialist. Driven by a desire to help individuals make meaningful connections and valuable discoveries, she takes pride in supporting educational and training courses with enthusiasm. In addition to her twelve years working in the national defense and countering threats field, she holds the position of Contracting Officer Representative (COR) managing government contracts to meet the requirements of ongoing research and development, and the master鈥檚 degree program within the Defense Analysis department at NPS. She is an Alumni of Pepperdine University.

Lieutenant General (Retired) Eric Wendt
Professor of Practice
Expertise: Command and Leadership
M.A. National Security Affairs (Special Operations Curriculum), 黑料吃瓜网, 1995; Fellow, 黑料吃瓜网, 2005; Distinguished Alumnus, 黑料吃瓜网, 2018
Eric.wendt@nps.edu
Retired Lieutenant General Eric Wendt served over thirty-four years of active-duty commissioned service, including four and a half years in the light infantry, followed by 30 years as a Special Forces Green Beret which included 55 months of combat deployments. He speaks Arabic and Korean. During his time on active duty he served as the sole Deputy Commanding General (for both Operations and Support) for the 13,500 multinational troops from 17 countries in Regional Command-North in Afghanistan; as a Sub-Unified Theater Special Operations Commander (TSOC Commander), as the Commanding General of the JFK Special Warfare Center and School; as the Chief of Staff for the United States INDOPACOM; he also led an eight-country coalition as the three-star United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, working in multiple countries throughout the Middle East in that assignment. His final assignment on active duty was as the fifth Commander of NATO Special Operations Forces Command (NATO SOFCOM) before retiring from uniformed military service in 2021.  LTG (Ret.) Wendt commanded multiple separate organizations for 13 years at tactical, operational and strategic levels while participating in numerous peacetime training and combat operations throughout the globe. He also served as the Principal Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.  LTG (Ret.) Wendt received his bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and received his master鈥檚 degree in 1995 from the 黑料吃瓜网 (he was in the third class of what today is the Defense Analysis program). Ten years later, he successfully completed a yearlong academic fellowship in the 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Department of Defense Analysis. In 2018 he was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of the 黑料吃瓜网. LTG (Ret.) Wendt has published multiple military professional journal articles, and today teaches Command and Leadership as a Professor of Practice at the 黑料吃瓜网 in the Department of Defense Analysis. LTG (Ret.) Wendt has significant guests who are strategic leaders from military, business, interagency, international and other fields speak with his Command and Leadership courses, and he serves as the moderator when these guest speakers provide their 鈥淔ireside Chats鈥� to the entire assembled 黑料吃瓜网 student body. In 2023 he was inducted into the US Army ROTC National Hall of Fame, and was also one of four inducted into the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) Hall of Fame.  In addition to working today as a Professor of Practice at the 黑料吃瓜网, LTG (Ret.) Wendt also currently serves as one of two DOD Senior Mentors in Korea.  PUBLICATIONS Eric P. Wendt, 鈥淪trategic Counterinsurgency Modeling,鈥� Senior Service College Fellowship Strategic Research Project, US Army War College (July 2005), pp. i-31 Eric P. Wendt, 鈥淪trategic Counterinsurgency Modeling,鈥� Special Warfare, Vol 18, Issue 2, (September 2005): pp. 2-13 Eric P. Wendt, 鈥淭he Green Beret Volckmann Program: Maximizing the Prevent Strategy,鈥� Special Warfare, Vol 24, issue 3, (July 2011): pp. 10-16 Eric P. Wendt, 鈥淐omprehensive Defense: A Whole-of-Society Approach Via Irregular Forces,鈥� Special Warfare, Vol 34, issue 2, (originally published June 2021, republished in DoD EarlyBird JAN 2022; republished again in The Drop Special Forces Association magazine in the summer 2023 issue).

Frank Wyer
Faculty Associate
Expertise: Defense Analysis

frank.wyer@nps.edu
   

Matthew Zefferman
Assistant Professor, Quantitative Social Scientist
Ph.D., Cultural Evolution and Human Behavioral Ecology, University of California, Davis, 2013
mrzeffer@nps.edu
In my research I use mathematical models and ethnographic field research to understand human culture, cooperation, and conflict 鈥� especially in the contexts of political organization and war. I also have conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Turkana pastoralist warriors in northwest Kenya. They also have a high degree of combat exposure 鈥� with about half of adult male mortality due to combat in cattle raids. I am interested in how Turkana organization for war has influenced their susceptibility to combat stress and moral injury. I have interviewed hundreds of warriors about their combat experiences, moral beliefs about warfare, combat stress symptoms, and moral injury.  Before starting as an assistant professor at NPS I was a Donald R. Beall Defense Fellow in my department. Before that I was a postdoctoral research fellow at ASU鈥檚 Institute of Human Origins and a member of the Adaptation, Behavior, Culture and Society research group in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. Before that, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis and, before that, earned by PhD at the University of California, Davis in the Cultural Evolution and Human Behavioral Ecology Labs.  I am also a US Air Force veteran with six years of service as a civil engineering officer with deployments to the UAE and Afghanistan.