<< Back to Faculty Todd S. Sechser Professor of Politics and Public Policy Education & Training Ph.D., Political Science, Stanford University tsechser@virginia.edu S182 Gibson Hall Research interests National Security Areas of focus National Security Political Science UVA partners Department of Politics Miller Center Todd S. Sechser is the Pamela Feinour Edmonds and Franklin S. Edmonds Jr. Discovery Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia; Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; and a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. Dr. Sechser’s research interests include coercive diplomacy, emerging technologies, nuclear security, and political violence. He is coauthor of the book Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and his research has appeared in academic journals such as International Organization, the American Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, and the Non-Proliferation Review. His writing on policy issues has been published in media outlets such as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and the Christian Science Monitor, and he regularly consults for several government and military agencies. He is also the director of the Program on Strategic Stability Evaluation, a multi-university working group studying the effects of new technologies on international military stability. Dr. Sechser was previously a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a John M. Olin National Security Fellow at Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University, where he wrote an award-winning doctoral dissertation. Before entering academia, Dr. Sechser worked as a nuclear policy analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Example Publications: Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy (Cambridge University Press, 2017). With Matthew Fuhrmann. “Reputations and Signaling in Coercive Bargaining.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 62:2 (2018), pp. 318-45. “A Bargaining Theory of Coercion.” In Kelly M. Greenhill and Peter Krause, eds., The Power to Hurt: Coercion in Theory and Practice (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018). “Military Technology and the Duration of Civil Conflict.” International Studies Quarterly 61:3 (2017), pp. 704-20. With Jonathan D. Caverley. “Signaling Alliance Commitments: Hand-Tying and Sunk Costs in Extended Nuclear Deterrence.” American Journal of Political Science 58:4 (October 2014), pp. 919-35. With Matthew Fuhrmann. “Crisis Bargaining and Nuclear Blackmail.” International Organization 67:1 (Winter 2013), pp. 173-95. With Matthew Fuhrmann. “The Illusion of Democratic Credibility.” International Organization 66:3 (Summer 2012), pp. 457-89. With Alexander B. Downes. “Goliath’s Curse: Coercive Threats and Asymmetric Power.” International Organization 64:4 (Fall 2010), pp. 627-60. Related Content Expert: Russia Risks Becoming ‘Isolated Pariah State’ if it Uses Nukes News Russia’s president is threatening to use “all the powers and means at our disposal” in its fight against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons expert and Batten School professor Todd Sechser weighs in on the possibilities. Putin is discovering that overwhelming military power can be a curse News Todd S. Sechser, professor of politics and public policy at the Batten School, writes in The Washington Post that small countries can inflict serious damage on invading superpowers. War in Ukraine: A Teach-in with UVA Faculty Event Batten professors Philip Potter and Todd Sechser join a lineup of UVA faculty experts for a teach-in to discuss the context and background of the crisis in Ukraine. Russia Invades Ukraine. What Does it Mean? News Following the largest attack in Europe since World War II, a trio of experts including Batten's Todd Sechser weigh in on an invasion 31 years in the making. NATO and the Future of U.S. Alliances Event Join the Miller Center and Batten's Todd Sechser as a panel of experts examines the future of U.S. alliances, issues related to NATO, and whether NATO can serve as a model for other alliance networks in the future. 'The World: A Brief Introduction' Event In this conversation hosted by UVA's Miller Center, Richard Haass, veteran diplomat and the current president of the Council on Foreign Relations, talks with Todd Sechser of the Democracy Initiative's Statecraft Lab about his new book The World: A Brief Introduction, Batten Faculty Provide Commentary on Election Results News In commentary compiled by the Miller Center, Batten Professors Jennifer Lawless, Margaret Foster Riley, Todd Sechser, and Craig Volden weigh in on the 2020 election, offering updates on the latest developments. Q&A: COVID-19 and American Foreign Policy with Batten's Sechser News As the coronavirus pandemic continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life and government, Batten's Todd Sechser says the handling of the pandemic by the U.S. has implications far beyond our borders, affecting policy and power struggles around the world. Democracy Initiative to Launch Two New Labs News Politics professor Todd Sechser and media studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan will direct the two newest labs for interdisciplinary research sponsored by the University of Virginia’s Democracy Initiative. View All
Expert: Russia Risks Becoming ‘Isolated Pariah State’ if it Uses Nukes News Russia’s president is threatening to use “all the powers and means at our disposal” in its fight against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons expert and Batten School professor Todd Sechser weighs in on the possibilities.
Putin is discovering that overwhelming military power can be a curse News Todd S. Sechser, professor of politics and public policy at the Batten School, writes in The Washington Post that small countries can inflict serious damage on invading superpowers.
War in Ukraine: A Teach-in with UVA Faculty Event Batten professors Philip Potter and Todd Sechser join a lineup of UVA faculty experts for a teach-in to discuss the context and background of the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia Invades Ukraine. What Does it Mean? News Following the largest attack in Europe since World War II, a trio of experts including Batten's Todd Sechser weigh in on an invasion 31 years in the making.
NATO and the Future of U.S. Alliances Event Join the Miller Center and Batten's Todd Sechser as a panel of experts examines the future of U.S. alliances, issues related to NATO, and whether NATO can serve as a model for other alliance networks in the future.
'The World: A Brief Introduction' Event In this conversation hosted by UVA's Miller Center, Richard Haass, veteran diplomat and the current president of the Council on Foreign Relations, talks with Todd Sechser of the Democracy Initiative's Statecraft Lab about his new book The World: A Brief Introduction,
Batten Faculty Provide Commentary on Election Results News In commentary compiled by the Miller Center, Batten Professors Jennifer Lawless, Margaret Foster Riley, Todd Sechser, and Craig Volden weigh in on the 2020 election, offering updates on the latest developments.
Q&A: COVID-19 and American Foreign Policy with Batten's Sechser News As the coronavirus pandemic continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life and government, Batten's Todd Sechser says the handling of the pandemic by the U.S. has implications far beyond our borders, affecting policy and power struggles around the world.
Democracy Initiative to Launch Two New Labs News Politics professor Todd Sechser and media studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan will direct the two newest labs for interdisciplinary research sponsored by the University of Virginia’s Democracy Initiative.