I am a PhD candidate in political science at Boston University, specializing in international relations and comparative politics. I am a 2025–2026 U.S.–Asia Grand Strategy Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California and a co-convener of the Project on the Political Economy of Security at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies.

A copy of my latest CV is available here.

Research Agenda

My research examines international security and comparative political economy, with a focus on the domestic foundations of military power and international behavior. I study how states build, manage, and mobilize economic and institutional capacity, with a regional emphasis on Japan and East Asia.

Industrial Mobilization & Comparative Political Economy

My primary line of research examines the political economy of industrial mobilization for war—how states translate economic resources into military power under wartime pressure, and why some do so more effectively than others.

I advance a theory of mobilization capacity that emphasizes prewar economic structures and state-business relations.

The argument intersects with comparative political economy, showing that the same institutions that underpin successful industrial policy in peacetime—coherent planning agencies, structured information-sharing with firms, and the capacity to discipline private actors—also shape economic interventions under wartime pressure. In doing so, my work links literatures on state capacity, developmental states, industrial policy, and security.

Institutions & National Security Policy

A second line of research explores the domestic politics of bureaucratic design, focusing on how the structure of national security institutions shapes executive control over foreign and security policy.

Methods & Background

My work draws on multilingual archival research and original datasets on wartime production and national security institutions. It has been supported by the Truman Library Institute, the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation, the Center for Innovation in Social Science, and the Stand Together Trust, and has appeared in the Texas National Security Review and Defence Studies. Prior to graduate school, I worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, The Asia Group, and on the Japan Desk at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

I hold a BA in History and Japanese and an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. I live outside Boston with my wife, our son, and our dog.

You can reach me at sgerstle@bu.edu.