Biography

David Arceneaux is an Assistant Professor of the Center for National Security and Foreign Affairs at the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Arceneaux earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from Syracuse University, an M.A. in International Affairs from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Sam Houston State University. Prior to joining the Baker School, he served as a Rossetti Senior Research Fellow at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Institute for Future Conflict and was an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He has also held pre- and postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, MIT’s Security Studies Program, and the Johns Hopkins SAIS Kissinger Center. 

His work appears in publications such as Contemporary Security Policy, The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the New Nuclear Age (Cornell University Press), and the forthcoming Atomic Backfires: When Nuclear Policies Fail (MIT Press). His policy commentary has been featured by the Future Conflict, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, National Interest, War on the Rocks, and the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. 

Arceneaux’s research has been supported by the Charles Koch Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, Harvard University, MIT, and Syracuse University, among others. He has briefed and collaborated with institutions including U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), NATO, and the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. 

At the University of Tennessee, he teaches topics related to national security, international conflict, and nuclear policy. He brings a unique blend of academic rigor and real-world policy engagement to the classroom, preparing students to critically assess complex global security issues. 

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Education

• B.A., Political Science, Sam Houston State University
• M.A., International Affairs, Texas A&M, Bush School of Government and Public Service
• M.A., Political Science, Syracuse University
• Ph.D., Political Science, Syracuse University

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Publications

Whether to worry: Nuclear weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war

The Fulcrum of Fragility: Command and Control in Regional Nuclear Powers

Atomic Backfires: When Nuclear Policies Fail

From the Inside Looking Out: Fears of Regime Change and North Korean Nuclear Operations