Areas of specialization include international relations, positive political economy, applied econometrics, and formal & computational modeling. He is especially interested in theories of interstate conflict initiation and deterrence. Before teaching at UCF, he taught various courses of security studies and research methods at Claremont Graduate University, the University of Southern California, and La Sierra University. His academic works appeared in International Studies Quarterly, International Interactions, International Area Studies Review, and several book chapters. He earned his BA in Political Science and International Studies from Yonsei University (Seoul, Korea), and MA in Economics and PhD in Political Science and Economics from Claremont Graduate University.