Lantis Article Nominated for Bernard Brodie Prize

Piece examines role of cultural influences in national security policy

WOOSTER, Dec. 16 – “Strategic Culture and Tailored Deterrence: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice,” by Jeffrey S. Lantis, professor of political science and chair of the international relations program at the College of Wooster, has been nominated for the Bernard Brodie Prize as the outstanding article published this year in the journal Contemporary Security Policy. The winner will be announced at the International Studies Association convention in February.

Lantis’ article examines recent academic research on the role of cultural influences in national security strategy, and how policy makers might apply those insights most effectively, including areas where cultural insights may help explain the security policy patterns of non-state actors. It concludes with recommendations for new lines of culturally based research that may aid the Obama administration in tailoring their deterrence efforts.

Lantis, whose latest book, The Life and Death of International Treaties: Double-Edged Diplomacy and the Politics of Ratification in Comparative Perspective, was published in 2009, has been a member of the Wooster faculty since 1994.

Founded in 1980, Contemporary Security Policy is one of the oldest peer-reviewed journals in international conflict and security. The Bernard Brodie Prize is named for the originator of the concept of nuclear deterrence, whose ideas remain at the center of security debates today.