I am an Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department at Loyola University Chicago. Previously, I was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House and earned a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Department of Government at Cornell University. My research bridges security studies, domestic politics, and public opinion to examine the relationship between leaders, their publics, and the use of force.
My book project examines the widespread use of humanitarian justifications in contemporary U.S. military interventions. I argue that humanitarian justifications play an under-acknowledged and uniquely powerful role in mobilizing domestic support, even in security interventions. They enable presidents to build broad coalitions of approval from a public with diverse foreign policy beliefs and guard against the development of politically costly opposition. The findings clarify the role of moral appeals in military interventions and highlight the conditions under which the public holds leaders accountable for their rhetoric.
Previously, I worked for a service delivery non-profit in North Carolina. I received a B.A. in Government and Sociology with a social justice concentration from Georgetown University.
Contact: smaxey@luc.edu
My book project examines the widespread use of humanitarian justifications in contemporary U.S. military interventions. I argue that humanitarian justifications play an under-acknowledged and uniquely powerful role in mobilizing domestic support, even in security interventions. They enable presidents to build broad coalitions of approval from a public with diverse foreign policy beliefs and guard against the development of politically costly opposition. The findings clarify the role of moral appeals in military interventions and highlight the conditions under which the public holds leaders accountable for their rhetoric.
Previously, I worked for a service delivery non-profit in North Carolina. I received a B.A. in Government and Sociology with a social justice concentration from Georgetown University.
Contact: smaxey@luc.edu
