I am a PhD Candidate in History and Graduate Fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin specializing in US foreign and national security policy since 1945, especially toward the Middle East and Russia. I also study terrorism.

Learn more about my scholarly work here, or view my curriculum vitae here. Read my public-facing work here.

A graduate of Kent State University (MA, 2020) and Grove City College (BA, 2018), my MA thesis examined American relations with a group of rejectionist Arabs, known as the Steadfastness and Confrontation Front (جبهة الصمود والتصدي), during and after the Camp David peace process. Using a wide range of materials in Arabic, Bulgarian, Russian, and other languages, I argue that the peace process and the coming of the Second Cold War were intimately connected. My dissertation highlights how “weak” actors in the Middle East were able to impact and, in some cases, constrain and determine Soviet and American policy.

You can follow me on social media @BenVAllison.