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Department of Political Science

Brett V. Benson

Associate Professor
Affiliated Faculty, Asian Studies Program

Brett V. Benson is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies at Vanderbilt. His research interests lie in the areas of international relations, political economy of conflict, and Chinese politics and East Asian relations. He is currently working on projects related to military alliances, economic interdependence, the global trade in small arms and light weapons, and China-Taiwan relations and security.

Representative publications

  • Benson, Brett V. and Bradley C. Smith. “Commitment Problems in Alliance Formation.” American Journal of Political Science, January 2022, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12693.
  • Benson, Brett V., Adam Meirowitz and Kristopher W. Ramsay. "Changing Capabilities, Uncertainty, and the Risk of War in Crisis Bargaining." Research and Politics, July-Sep (2016 ): 1-6.
  • Benson, Brett V., and Joshua D. Clinton. "Assessing the Variation of Formal Military Alliances." Journal of Conflict Resolution, 60,5 (2016): 866-898.
  • Benson, Brett V., Adam Meirowitz and Kristopher Ramsay. “Inducing Deterrence Through Moral Hazard in Alliance Contracts.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 58, 2 (2014): 307-335. 
  • Benson, Brett V. Constructing International Security: Alliances, Deterrence, and Moral Hazard. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
  • Benson, Brett V. “Unpacking Alliances:  Deterrent and Compellent Alliances and Their Relationship with Conflict, 1816-2000.” Journal of Politics 73, 4 (2011): 1111-1127.
  • View Curriculum Vitae