Welcome to my Website

On this page you may find information about my ongoing research, teaching and other activities.  I am a full time member of the Political Science and International Relations department and a member of the Asian Studies program here at New Paltz.

Below is a brief  description of my current research focus.  For more, you can click on the CV link or the Publications link where you will find PDFs of selected publications.

Generally speaking, my current research focuses on a number of areas:

Evaluating the impact of crises on state-civil society relations.  How do crises shift the balance of power between the state and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)?  The research focuses in particular on distinctions between authoritarian and democratic regimes, with case studies of Mainland China, Taiwan and South Korea.

Assessing the policy aspects of pandemic control.  What factors influence effective pandemic control at both the international and the domestic levels? Which actors and institutions are key to effective pandemic response? The research focuses in particular on the role played by neighborhood and village committees in Taiwan although I have recently expanded my interest to include India.

I teach the following courses on a rotating basis:

  • Introduction to International Politics (POL227)
  • International Politics of the Asia-Pacific (POL365)
  • Government and Politics of China and Japan (POL369)
  • Chinese Foreign Policy and the United States (POL363)
  • Comparative Politics of China and India (POL362)
  • Politics of Developing Areas (POL342)
  • Politics of Environment and development (POL347)
  • International Political Economy (POL346)
  • Seminar in International Relations (POL404)

Sample syllabi can be found by clicking the Courses link