I received my Ph.D. in Political Science in December 2021 from the Department of Political Science at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York with concentrations in international relations and comparative politics.

My dissertation, entitled “Economic sanctions and opportunism,” explores the ways in which third-party states and their firms take advantage of opportunities that emerge when economic sanctions and arms embargoes are implemented. It was also awarded the Rockefeller College Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2022.

TRADING WITH PARIAHS:

My first book, Trading with Pariahs: Trade Networks and the Failure of Economic Sanctions, co-authored with Charmaine N. Willis Ward (Skidmore College), explores the role that trade networks play in the success or failure of economic sanctions.

Image of our book cover for "Trading with Pariahs"

The past few decades have witnessed a proliferation of economic sanctions, yet there seem to be few examples of sanctions meeting sender states’ goals.

Under what conditions do sanctions fail to change the behavior of so-called international “pariah states,” countries who violate various international norms? This book examines the impact of economic sanctions on target states’ trading relationships through social network analysis, a method that has rarely been applied to the study of sanctions.

Drawing on UN Comtrade data, we show that the imposition of sanctions can drastically change some states’ trading networks, as states either find new trading partners (in the case of North Korea) or feel the sting of the sanctions from key trading partners (like Iran). Others’ trading networks (such as Myanmar’s) remain relatively stable over time as key trading partners refuse to impose sanctions.

Through the theory of weaponized interdependence, the authors argue that the success or failure of sanctions to change target states’ behavior depends on who imposes the sanctions. Sanctions imposed by the “right” sender states can be successful but also cannot rely solely on policies of isolation to achieve sanctions’ goals.

A geospatial network map across time from my recent article with Charmaine Willis, “Trading with Pariahs: International Trade and North Korean Sanctions,” which is currently under review.

Smart Evasion:

I am currently working on a solo-authored book project that explores how states develop institutional responses to the imposition of primary and secondary sanctions. This book, tentatively entitled Smart Evasion, is currently in progress with an anticipated first draft for completion by June 2025.

Research Interests:

  • Economic statecraft
  • Economic sanctions and enforcement
  • US foreign policy
  • Foreign policy analysis
  • International trade (especially arms trade and strategic trade)
  • Proliferation financing
  • Quantitative and qualitative methods

Regional Interests:

  • Europe/European Union (especially Italian politics)
  • DPRK
  • Southeast Asia

Teaching:

He has taught the following undergraduate courses from Introduction to US Politics to Global Goverance. Visit the Teaching tab for copies of previous syllabi and course activities.

Interests outside political science:

Besides political science, Keith has an interest in genealogy; Italian language, art, and translation; history; photography; music (he plays the flute, recorder, and piano); traveling; and web design.

Since 2005, he has operated a popular blog on Italian language that evolved into a small publishing company. Since 2014, Keith and his coauthors have published five Italian language guides. In 2021, the web site has shift operations to Substack in order to reach a larger audience, https://paroladelgiorno.substack.com.