Research Interests and Selected Publications
Desch specializes in international relations with emphases on international security, political theory and international relations, and American foreign and defense policies.
Books
 | Power and Military Effectiveness: The Fallacy of Democratic Triumphalism. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). |
 | Civilian Control of the Military: The Changing Security Environment. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) [Paperback edition, 2001]. |
Articles
“America’s Liberal Illiberalism: The Ideological Origins of Overreaction in U.S. Foreign Policy,” International Security Vol. 32, No. 3 (Winter 2007/08): 7-43. [Portions reprinted as “The Liberal Roots of the American Empire” in Jocelyen Cesari, ed., Muslims in Europe and the United States After 9/11 (New York: Routledge, 2009), 88-115]. [PDF
]“Bush and the Generals,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 86, No. 3 (May/June 2007): 97-108. [reprinted in Gideon Rose, et al Among Nations: Readings in International Relations (Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008) and Robert L. Taylor, William E. Rosenbach, and Erich Rosenbach, eds., Military Leadership: In Pursuit of Excellence [6th ed.](Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2008). ][HTML
]"War and Strong States, Peace and Weak States?" International Organization, Vol. 50, no. 2 (Spring 1996): 237-68. [PDF
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