Research
Books
How Militaries Learn: Human Capital, Military Education, and Battlefield Effectiveness (Lexington Books, 2018).
Stability Economics: The Economic Foundations of Security in Post-Conflict Environments, with Daniel G. Cox, eds. (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2012).
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“The Power of Belief: The Role of Coups, Microbehavior, and Military Learning in Ideas About Civil-Military Relations.” In Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Civil-Military Relations, ed. Aurel Croissant, David Kuehn, and David Pion-Berlin (forthcoming).
“Military Learning and Evolutions in Warfare in the Modern Era.” Oxford Encyclopedia of the Military in Politics (2021).
“Conscription and the Politics of Recruitment,” with Lindsay Cohn. Oxford Encyclopedia of the Military in Politics (2020).
“Why Professionalize? Economic Modernization and Military Professionalism.” Foreign Policy Analysis, vol. 13, no. 4 (October 2017): 854–75.
“I Want You! The Determinants of Military Conscription,” with Victor Asal and Justin Conrad. Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 61, no. 7 (August 2017): 1456–81.
“Markets and Manpower: The Political-Economy of Compulsory Military Service,” with Lindsay Cohn. Armed Forces & Society, vol. 43, no. 3 (July 2017): 436–58.
“Does Operational Art Exist? Space, Time, and a Theory of Operational Art.” Military Operations, vol. 2, no. 1 (winter 2014): 4–7.
“Training Is Not Enough: Economic Development and Military Professionalism in Turkey.” St. Antony’s International Review, vol. 7, no. 1 (May 2011): 119–43.
“It’s All the Rage: Why Mechanization Doesn’t Explain Counterinsurgency Outcomes,” with Niel A. Smith. Small Wars & Insurgencies, vol. 21, no. 3 (September 2010): 519–28.
Editor-Reviewed Articles
Review of Endgames: Military Response to Protest in Arab Autocracies, by Hicham Bou Nassif, Middle East Journal, vol. 75, no. 3 (autumn 2021): 496–497.
“Egypt’s Populocracy.” Italian Institute for International Political Studies (January 25, 2021).
“Defense Sector Transparency and Tawazun.” Tawazun Blog (December 9, 2020).
“Arab Defense Affairs and the Tawazun Blog.” Tawazun Blog (December 9, 2020).
“Caught in a Debtor’s Prison.” Diwan (Carnegie Middle East Center) (January 28, 2020).
“Can a 19th Century Maritime Truce Help Ease 21st Century Tensions in the Gulf?” Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) Blog (October 10, 2019).
“The Gulf Simmer: The New-Old Normal in the Gulf Tepid War.” RealClearDefense (September 25, 2019).
“Shades of Yesteryear: Is the Middle East on the Path to Regional War?” Dinamika Global, vol. 3, no. 2 (December 2018): 3–17.
“Building Human Capital: The Implications of Emerging Warfare for People in National Security,” UAE Ministry of Defense, Occasional Paper (May 2018).
“Gearing up for Peace? Potential Conflict Scenarios in the Gulf,” National Defense, issue 5 (May 2018).
“Star Wars [Arabic],” اتجاهات الأحداث [Trending Events], issue 20 (April 2017).
“Simple Ways to Help Expatriate Pupils Learn Arabic.” The National (Abu Dhabi) (editorial, December 8, 2015).
“Will ISIL Be Remembered as a New Third Reich?” The National (Abu Dhabi) (editorial, August 25, 2015).
“Does Military Education Matter?” E-International Relations (May 26, 2015).
“Brother, Can You Pare a DIME? Towards a New Typology of National Power,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (March 26, 2015).
“Compulsory Military Service: Some Lessons from History,” National Defense, issue 1 (June 2014): 43–7.
“Middle East Conflict,” SAGE Encyclopedia of Military Science, ed. G. Kurt Piehler (2013).
“Israel,” SAGE Encyclopedia of Military Science, ed. G. Kurt Piehler (2013).
“What Good Is the Army? Social Bargains, Human Capital, and the Future of Land Warfare,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (15 April 2013).
“Military Magic,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (8 March 2013).
“Whither the War on Terror?” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (29 January 2013).
Review of Social Movements, Mobilization, and Contestation in the Middle East and North Africa, by Joel Beinin and Frederic Vairel, Journal of Peace Research, vol. 49, no. 5 (September 2012): 741.
“Active Inaction: Interagency Security Assistance to Egypt,” Interagency Paper No. 6, Col. Arthur D. Simons Center for the Study of Interagency Cooperation (December 2011).
“Egypt’s Coup-volution,” Middle East Insight, vol. 16 (February 16, 2011).
Review of A Path out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East, by Kenneth Pollack, Military Review (November–December 2010): 110–1.
“Forty Years of COIN: The Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories,” Joint Force Quarterly, issue 50 (3rd Quarter 2008): 79–84.
“Where Have All the Bombers Gone?” Institute for Counter Terrorism (April 20, 2008).
Organizational Design
“Using Data Analysis to Transform the Customer Experience of Hiring at a Large Federal Organization.” Ideas & Insights (October 28, 2022).
“Leadership Strategies and IT Modernization at the 930Gov Conference,” with Kat Rocha. Ideas & Insights (October 18, 2022).
“Using Data to Drive Organizational Design Decisions,” with Sonya Patel. Ideas & Insights (August 30, 2022).
“Big Data.” Ideas & Insights (May 13, 2022).
Original Data Sets
Military Schools Data Set (2022): Provides names, dates of operation, and source information for nationally-funded military officer schools, all countries, 1800–2015.
Military Recruitment Data Set (2022): Provides information on the use of conscripts versus volunteers, all countries, 1800–2008.
Military Periodicals Data Set (2005): Provides names (including name changes), location and dates of publication for all military-related periodicals, 1793–2005.
Selected Conference Presentations
“Learning Military Power: Military Education and Battlefield Effectiveness,” APSA 2017, ERGOMAS 2017.
“Training for Life: National Service and Educational Achievement in the UAE,” with Sultan R. Ali al-Kaabi, APSA 2016.
“Man, I Look Good! Foreign Direct Investment, Labor, and Human Trafficking in the Gulf,” with Samuel Greene, APSA 2015.
“Why Men (Don’t) Rebel: Compulsory Military Service and Legitimacy in the United Arab Emirates,” APSA 2014.
“Worth the Wait? US Security Assistance to Egypt and the 25 January Revolution,” APSA 2012.
“Hell No, We Won't Go: Mission Posture, Labor Markets, and the Shift to Volunteer Military Recruitment in the OECD, 1964–2008,” with Lindsay P. Cohn, MPSA 2012.
“Markets and Manpower: The Political Economy of Compulsory Military Service,” with Lindsay P. Cohn, ERGOMAS 2011, MPSA 2011.
“It’s Lonely at the Top: The Costs of Systemic Leadership,” with Daniel G. Cox, ISA 2011.
“Security Force Assistance for the Long Term? Economic Modernization and Military Professionalism,” MPSA 2010.
“Military Recruitment and Counterinsurgency Outcomes,” APSA 2009.
Grants & Awards
London School of Economics–Arab University Collaborative Grant, (co-investigator; value: 119,900 GBP)
Simons Center, Faculty Interagency Writing Competition, First Place
U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, Silver Pen Award
Institute for National Security Studies Grant, U.S. Air Force Academy
University Fellowship, Ohio State University
Professional Enhancement of Graduate Studies Award, Ohio State University
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, Ohio State University
Working Projects
Business Strategy and Tactics: Tools for Success in the Hybrid Workplace
Learning Military Power: Military Education and Battlefield Effectiveness
Desert Rules: The Origins of Arab Rentierism and Autocracy
The Promise and Peril of Defense Education Reform in the Gulf