Research

Lantis has extensive field research experience in international politics, and he regularly employs elite interviews to develop original case studies of foreign and security policy decision-making processes from around the world. In 2007, Lantis served as a J. William Fulbright Senior Fell0w for research in Australia, where he was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of International Relations at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at The Australian National University in Canberra and the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Lantis has also served as a Visiting Scholar in the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada; and in the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Current research projects include:

Congressional Foreign Policy Entrepreneurship:  This research explores the impact of War on Terror military veterans in Congress on U.S. foreign policy. This project employs a mixed-methods approach, including extensive interviews and structured, focused case studies of innovation and obstruction in contemporary U.S. foreign policy debates.

The Politics of Emerging Technologies: I am studying the development of emerging technologies in orbital and outer space and cyberspace through the lenses of constructivist norm theory and strategic culture. This work includes collaborations with Dr. Adam Bower, University of St. Andrews, and other scholars, designed to order our understanding of the implications of technologies for international cooperation and conflict. 

Critical Norm Theory and Norm Architectures: This research program critically examines constructivist security studies theory regarding the power of international norms to regulate state behavior. I have developed and published research projects on norm linkages with Dr. Carmen Wunderlich and colleagues at the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt/Leibniz Institut Hessische Stiftung Friedens und Konfliktforschung (PRIF/HSFK) and the Peace Research Center Prague at Charles University.

Strategic Culture in the 21st Century:  This research analyzes the role of strategic culture in shaping national security policy. This research program includes an examination of strategic culture and tailored deterrence, as well as a study of links between strategic culture, weapons of mass destruction policy, and threat assessment.

U.S. Political Polarization, Factionalism, and Foreign Policy:  This research program explores the impact and influence of ideological factions such as the House Freedom Caucus and the Progressives on various aspects of the U.S. foreign policy-making process. I have presented conference papers and have articles in development that examine how the rise of a new generation in Congress and active factions have impacted key areas of U.S. foreign policy-making. In collaboration with Dr. Patrick Homan, we are advancing a new book, conference papers, and articles on factionalism on foreign policy.

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