I study and write about global governance, security studies, and civil-military relations. My approach, rooted in pragmatism and network theory, examines how security and governance are generated. These processes often involve non-state actors like companies and civil society groups and reveal intersections between social justice concerns, security and governance. Check out my current work, publications and what I used to teach before I stepped down from my formal role in 2026. 

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I also hike, bike, practice yoga, cook, and travel...as much as possible with my family, friends and dog. You can find pictures and updates on my blog and follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Bluesky.

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Professional Biography

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I am Distinguished University Professor and Sié Chéou-Kang Chair for International Security and Diplomacy, Emerita, at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. For the 2022-23 academic year, I was also Senior Research Fellow with New America's Planetary Politics initiative. My research has focused on civil-military relations, and the roles of non-state actors in controlling violence and generating governance.

I am author/editor of Civil Action and the Dynamics of Violence in Conflicts (with Marie Berry, Erica Chenoweth, Rachel Epstein, Cullen Hendrix, Oliver Kaplan, and Timothy Sisk), The New Power Politics: Networks and Transnational Security Governance (with Oliver Westerwinter); Who Governs the Globe? (with Martha Finnemore and Susan Sell); The Market for Force: the Consequences of Privatizing Security; and Political Institutions and Military Change: Lessons From Peripheral Wars, along with articles in such journals as International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, Security Studies, Perspectives on Politics, and Foreign Policy.

I was honored to be the inaugural director of the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy, which has become a model for promoting engaged scholarship on the many different policy consequential organizations that affect governance around security, prosperity, and social justice. I was also editor-in-chief of the International Studies Association (ISA) journal: the Journal of Global Security Studies, as it launched in 2015-2020 and was the 2022-23 President of the ISA.

I am observer member of the ICoCA and, in 2013, was awarded an honorary doctorate from University of St.Gallen for my research and contribution toward regulating private military and security companies. In 2026 I received Distinguished Scholar Awards from both the International Security Studies Section and the International Interdisciplinary Studies Section of the ISA. I have advised governments, companies, NGOs, and others on the roles that non-state actors play in contemporary global governance.

 

I have a Ph.D., Political Science from the University of California, San Diego (1991).

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Professional Affiliations

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• International Studies Association

• American Political Science Association

• Women in International Security

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