Research
Global Security
The Global Security program brings together UT professors, Baker Experts, other scholars and practitioners, and graduate and undergraduate researchers to inform and assess policies and challenges on key issues of international security. The program’s Experts conduct research, work on grants and contracts, and publish articles, books, and policy briefings on a range of topics that fall into 3 main themes:
- Civil conflict & political violence
- Territorial & maritime security & disputes
- East Asian security & economic relations
The program hosts lectures on global security and foreign policy, a lecture series of former ambassadors and diplomats, a bi-weekly research workshop with scholars at universities across Tennessee, and biannual conferences on the prevention, management, and resolution of international and civil conflicts and disputes.
Mission: To address national and international security threats and solutions through policy relevant research and education with a global perspective.
Vision: Well-informed strategies to mitigate national and international security threats.
Program Director:
Dr. Krista Wiegand
Phone: 865-974-0969
Email: kwiegand@utk.edu
Global Security Policy Experts
Krista Wiegand
Dr. Wiegand is Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Global Security program at the Center. She specializes in territorial and maritime disputes, international conflict resolution, and East Asian security…
Matthew Buehler
Dr. Buehler is a specialist of comparative politics and international relations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region…
Wonjae Hwang
Dr. Hwang is a professor in political science. He specializes in international political economy and Korean/Asian politics…
Eric Keels
Eric Keels’s interests lie in Civil War, Ethnic Violence, Election Violence, International Mediation, Peace Agreements, Resource Curse, and Conflict Management…
Kelly Morrison
Kelly Morrison is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and a Global Security Faculty Affiliate at the Baker Center…
Brandon Prins
Dr. Prins is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Political Science. Research focuses on relationship between domestic politics, international relations…
Jonathan Ring
Dr. Ring’s work is interested in international relations, comparative politics, foreign policy, conflict processes, transnational activism, human rights…
Sojeong Lee
Sojeong Lee is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow for the Global Security Program and Managing Editor for International Studies Quarterly…
Candace White
Candace White is focused on Public Diplomacy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Global Public Relations, Cultural Diplomacy, Country Image, Intercultural Communication…
Global Security Grants and Contracts
The program’s research has been supported by private, state, and federal grants and contracts. These grants and contracts allow for faculty and fellows to engage in interdisciplinary projects that have theoretical, empirical, and practical import for scholars and policymakers on wide-ranging topics, including war, crises, international and civil conflict resolution; territorial and maritime disputes, piracy and maritime security; terrorism and other political violence; foreign policy; and nuclear security and proliferation.
Recent research conducted by research fellows in the Global Security Program include a:
- Three-year Minerva grant (2020-2023), directed by Dr. Brandon Prins, Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science and a Global Security Fellow at the Baker Center, to investigate the role of illicit networks in Maritime Asia and the law enforcement capabilities available to detect and counter these criminal actors. The project ties strategic competition among important regional actors to the decision-making and activities of non-state criminal and political groups.
- One-year Korea Foundation Grant (2021-2022) by Dr. Krista Wiegand and Dr. Sojeong Lee to conduct research on the U.S.-South Korea alliance and regional security. This project explores the factors that influence South foreign policies of South Korea and other U.S. allies in the region regarding regional security in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-China rivalry, and how Japan-South Korea relations influence the effectiveness of the U.S. alliance system in the region.
The program’s faculty and staff also conduct and host educational programs, publish on a range of policy relevant topics, and edit the flagship journal of the International Studies Association, International Studies Quarterly, published by Oxford University Press.
If you are interested in a potential collaboration please contact Dr. Krista Wiegand, Program Director.
Issues in Civil Wars Dataset
Sponsor: US – NSF – National Science Foundation
PI: Krista Wiegand
Award Period: 8/15/18 to 7/31/20
University Engagement for Nuclear Nonproliferation Courses
Sponsor: DOE – ORNL – UT-Battelle – Oak Ridge National Laboratory
PI: Matthew Buehler
Award Period: 7/16/18 – open
Nuclear Security Research
Sponsor: Department of Energy – Y12 – Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS)
PI: Krista Wiegand
Award Period: 10/1/20 to 9/30/21
Maritime Law Enforcement in the Indo-Pacific: Building Capacity to Confront Militia Groups and Maritime Crime
Sponsor: Department of Defense
PI: Brandon Prins
Award Period: 11/20/20 to 11/19/23
Speaker Series
Ashe Lecture Series
Ashe Lectures are sponsored by former Knoxville mayor and US Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe through the East Tennessee Foundation. For the series, ambassadors and mayors are invited to speak on a variety of public matters, including foreign relations, diplomacy, world affairs, and local government.
Previous lectures have been given by individuals such as Richard Lugar, former senator (R-IN) and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Nicholas Burns, former under-secretary of State for US Political Affairs and US ambassador to NATO, and professor at Harvard University; and Margaret Scobey, former US ambassador to Egypt and Syria; and current ambassadors to the US from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. For more information on upcoming events visit the events calendar here.
Global Security Lecture Series
This lecture series provides a forum for guest speakers to present lectures open to the public about national and international security threats, diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, and security and economic challenges in East Asia. previous speakers have included U.S. government officials from Department of State and Department of Defense, military officers, representatives of foreign governments, policy analysts at thinktanks in Washington, D.C. and scholars from around the world. Check for upcoming events here.
Global Security Partnerships
- US State Department’s Diplomacy Lab
- Department of Homeland Security Invent2Prevent
- International Studies Quarterly
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies
- Jeju Peace Institute
- Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
- Y-12 Consolidated Nuclear Services
International Relations/Global Security (IR/GS) Research Workshop:
The International Relations/Global Security (IR/GS) Research Workshop is hosted 5-7 times each semester, with faculty and graduate students from UTK as well as other institutions in Tennessee, including the University of Memphis, East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University, and University of Tennessee Chattanooga. At each workshop, a professor or graduate student presents her/his research at all stage from early to needing revisions and receives feedback. Please contact Dr. Sojeong Lee at slee138@utk.edu for any further inquiries about the IR/GS Research Workshop, including a schedule and participation.
Below please check the schedule for the IR/GS Research Workshop in Fall 2022:
- September 2, 2022: Dr. Gary Uzonyi. “Post-Cold War Assassinations”
- September 23, 2022: Alexandra Rotzer. “Across Domains: The Escalation of Airspace Incursions in Maritime Disputes”
- October 14, 2022: Matt Jones. “LGBTQ Rights under Islamic Jurisprudence: The Madhahib and Sodomy Laws”
- October 28, 2022: Dr. John Miglietta. “Tajikistan in the New Great Game”
- November 11, 2022: Dana Abu Haltam. “The elements of the Chinese foreign policy toward the Middle East”
- December 2, 2022: Kacper Fryderyk Grass. “US Military Intervention and Political Stability in Latin America”
Global Security Activities:
Additional activities include a lecture series on global security and foreign policy and a biannual conference on the prevention, management, and resolution of international conflicts, civil wars, terrorism and other political violence. Courses on these topics include recent projects with the US State Department’s Diplomacy Lab.
