Mike Goldfien

Come work with me and the great climate community at Brown University, incl @jenniferhadden.bsky.social @timmonsroberts.bsky.social

Please share widely! Deadline Jan 9, 2026.

Thanks, Sarah!

I received a ton of great feedback on this project (see acknowledgments) and it builds on a terrific literature. I am especially indebted to @sarahbush.bsky.social, #AlexDebs, and @profsaunders.bsky.social for their guidance.

For the tl;dr version, see the abstract below.

To Agree or Not to Agree: Hawks, Doves, and Regime Type in International Rivalry and Rapprochement Abstract. Existing scholarship emphasizes hawks’ advantages in making peace, but it is squarely focused on electorally accountable leaders, even though most international rivalries feature at least on...

Excited that my article, "To Agree or Not to Agree: Hawks, Doves, and Regime Type in International Rivalry and Rapprochement," is now out at International Security.
@intsecurity.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social.

direct.mit.edu/isec/article...

Fall 2025 issue preview @intsecurity.bsky.social!

M. Trachtenberg | rules-based international order
@aaronbateman.bsky.social | U.S. space power
@ajmount.bsky.social | conventional deterrence of nuclear use
DJ Kim | clients’ demand evasion
@mikegoldfien.bsky.social | hawks, doves, & rapprochement

Thrilled to be part of such a great looking issue!

Happy Opening Day!

Do advisers affect foreign policy and, if so, how? Recent scholarship on elite decision making prioritizes leaders and the institutions that surround them, rather than the dispositions of advisers themselves. We argue that despite the hierarchical nature of foreign policy decision making, advisers’ predispositions regarding the use of force shape state behavior through the counsel advisers provide in deliberations. To test our argument, we introduce an original data set of 2,685 foreign policy deliberations between US presidents and their advisers from 1947 to 1988. Applying a novel machine learning approach to estimate the hawkishness of 1,134 Cold War–era foreign policy decision makers, we show that adviser-level hawkishness affects both the counsel that advisers provide in deliberations and the decisions leaders make: conflictual policy choices grow more likely as hawks increasingly dominate the debate, even when accounting for leader dispositions...

New in @iojournal.bsky.social w Jost @ericmin.bsky.social & Schub:

We combine computational methods with uniquely rich Cold War archival evidence to study how advisers matter in foreign policy.

Where advisers stand doesn't just depend on where they sit.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

polisky

Congrats!

Read it, cite it, love it!

An outstanding piece of work by a brilliant young scholar. Everyone working on territorial politics should be paying close attention to @soyounglee.bsky.social!

🥳Yay, this paper's now officially out!

Available open access👇
cup.org/3GTQ99X

#polisky, intsec, nationalisky

The one-day conference has three primary aims: 1) present innovative work on international political economy, 2) create opportunities for networking and feedback within and across levels of seniority, 3) provide space to articulate challenges (and strategies for addressing these challenges) particular to women (and non-binary) scholars working in IPE. By connecting women at different stages of their careers, the conference will help foster new connections and conversations about career advancement and opportunities in the field of IPE. The conference will feature panels of junior scholars with senior discussants, a roundtable on academic careers in IPE, and happy hour and dinner for informal conversations. Submissions: We are soliciting submissions on topics in international political economy from junior (defined as post-PhD, pre-tenure) women and non-binary scholars. Submissions may take the form of an extended abstract or full draft; preference will be given to full drafts.

Two more days to submit proposals for SWIPE!

When: April 12
Where: Penn
What: Supporting Women in International Political Economy
Who: Post-PhD, pre-tenure women

Deadline: Dec 15

Apply: forms.gle/xw3CHfbP2yYo...

Woohooo!! So exciting.

Opinion | The Conversations About the War in Gaza We Ought to Be Having Universities should not retreat into their ivory towers because the discourse has gotten toxic; a retreat into the ivory tower will encourage even more toxic discourse.

Important statement from Amaney Jamal and Keren Yarhi-Milo: "Campuses must protect free speech, but equally advocate for mutually respectful dialogue...There is no better place for these discussions than a university campus. But sponsoring this kind of debate takes courage."

Polisky! With @danieladonno.bsky.social @parzetterberg.bsky.social, we are excited to share this new open access article in the American Political Science Review.

Can autocrats burnish a reputation for democracy by advancing women’s rights? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Congrats, Sarah!!

Hey @profmusgrave.bsky.social could I please be added to the Polisky list? Thanks very much!

Biden will visit Israel during a war. That’s unprecedented. President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, Oct. 18, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in remarks after nine hours of meetings and

We know you've heard "unprecedented" a lot the last few weeks. In this piece, @profsaunders.bsky.social goes long on how US President Biden's trip to Israel is -- in fact -- unprecedented, highlighting similar trips and also telling us why this one is so different. goodauthority.org/news/biden-w...

Paralysis in the Pentagon A standoff in the Senate is undermining civilian control of the military.

In Foreign Affairs, , I argue the Senate standoff over Defense Department nominations forces an overreliance on acting officials, politicizes the military promotions process, & threatens to undermine civilian control over the armed forces (1/12) www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Paralysis in the Pentagon A standoff in the Senate is undermining civilian control of the military.

In Foreign Affairs, @theomilo.bsky.social argues the Senate standoff over Defense Department nominations forces an overreliance on acting officials, politicizes the military promotions process, & threatens to undermine civilian control over the armed forces.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...