I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, where I study International Relations, with specific emphases on grand strategy, American foreign policy, and American military base politics.
My dissertation analyzed the distribution of American military forces overseas. Previous research hypothesized that American forces are based due to alliance commitments, support of friendly regimes, and acute security crises. I add to these findings by keeping in mind that all politics are local, and I show that the partisan composition of Congress and the Presidency determine whether the American military presence overseas expands or contracts. I follow up on my dissertation with papers examining the effects of military bases on host regime type, propensity for conflict, economic development, and public opinion of the United States. I organized a research team that has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Defense's Minerva Initiative. With this grant, we are conducting surveys of 14 countries that host US military forces and collecting data on crimes committed by and against US forces, protests against the US presence, and economic effects of US bases. These data will allow us to better understand the micro-foundations of the American military's role in the world and its consequences. My work has been published in Conflict Management and Peace Science, the Journal of Global Security Studies, Political Science Quarterly, Orbis, The National Interest, The Diplomat, and others. Download my CV Email: stravers (at) utexas.edu |