Sam Gerstle

Sam Gerstle is a Predoctoral Research Fellow in the International Security Program and a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Boston University. His research examines how domestic political and economic institutions shape national security policy and states’ capacity to generate military power.

His dissertation asks why some states are more effective than others at mobilizing their economies for war. His other research examines the design of national security organizations, forward deployments and deterrence, and the domestic foundations of U.S. strategy toward China.

Previously, he was a U.S.-Asia Grand Strategy Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California. Before beginning his Ph.D., he worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and The Asia Group. He holds a B.A. in history and Japanese and an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.