Krista E. Wiegand
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Krista Eileen Wiegand (born February 19, 1971) is an American political scientist. She is a
full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
of Political Science and Director of the Global Security Program at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
. She also was the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal '' International Studies Quarterly'' until the end of 2023.


Early life and education

Wiegand was born on February 19, 1971, in Miami, Florida. She earned her
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree and first
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
from the
American University School of International Service The School of International Service (SIS) is American University's school of advanced international study, covering areas such as international politics, international communication, international development, international economics, peace and conf ...
. From there, she enrolled at
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
for her second master's degree and PhD. After graduating from the American University School of International Service, Wiegand traveled to Beirut with her Lebanese-American friends where she learned about the
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
. As a result, she chose to write her master's thesis on this topic. The following summer, she returned to Lebanon to continue her research but her friends were detained by
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
for "helping an American." She stated that she was "grilled for several hours about America’s involvement with Israel." Afterward, she was recruited by the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
for a job in covert operations, which she declined.


Career

Wiegand is a specialist in international relations, focusing on international and civil conflict, conflict resolution, and Indo-Pacific security. She is an expert on territorial and maritime disputes, particularly the disputes in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Sea of Japan, and a specialist in maritime international law. She is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for National Security and Foreign Affairs at the Howard H. Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, both of which were inaugurated in July 2023. Wiegand joined the faculty at
Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hine ...
(GSU) in 2005 as an assistant professor in their Department of Political Science and Director of their Honors Program in Political Science. She stayed at GSU for nine years before accepting a position at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
(UT). Upon joining the faculty at UT, Wiegand became an
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
of Political Science and Director of the Global Security Program at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. As Director of the Center for National Security and Foreign Affairs since 2023, Wiegand directs multiple government-funded grants, conducts policy-relevant research on international conflict, organizes and hosts a series of events and workshops, and works with faculty fellows and affiliates across multiple disciplines and partner institutions at UTK, across the US, and in Japan. In 2015, Wiegand taught for the Semester at Sea program. In 2017, Wiegand accepted a Fulbright senior scholarship which sent her to the Philippines for research purposes for five months. Two years later, she was appointed the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal '' International Studies Quarterly,'' flagship journal of the International Studies Association, with Brandon Prins from 2019 until the end of 2023.


Selected publications

The following is a list of selected publications *'' The Peaceful Resolution of Territorial and Maritime Disputes'' (2023) *'' Enduring Territorial Disputes: Strategies of Bargaining, Coercive Diplomacy, and Settlement'' (2011) *'' Bombs and Ballots: Governance by Islamic Terrorist and Guerrilla Groups'' (2010)


Personal life

Wiegand and her husband Michael L. Jordan have one child together.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegand, Krista E. Living people 1971 births Duke University alumni American University School of International Service alumni University of Tennessee faculty Political science journal editors Academics from Florida