National Security Professors?

[TheWalkingGrad]

Hi,

I'm finishing my MA in International Strategic Studies overseas, and my thesis is on the National Security System in the US (institutional design and decision-making). I want to do my PhD in the US and continue this research, but maybe through a comparative perspective, comparing the NS systems of a few other countries (right now I'm thinking UK, France, Russia, Australia and Brazil, but it's definitely not set in stone). 

My problem: I'm having difficulty finding faculty to advise me, so I'm having trouble deciding to which programs I should apply. Help?

Thanks

[alphazeta]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "national security system" but I think you're saying that you want to study US, or possibly comparative, foreign policy with an emphasis on security issues?  The right decision about where to look will depend heavily on just how much you want to do foreign policy as it applies to international security as opposed to international security as it applies to foreign policy.  That made sound like a pointless distinction, but it isn't.

This is actually an interest that I imagine could be accommodated nearly anywhere, depending on your theoretical and methodological orientation.  Within the top 10, focus on fit on those dimensions.  A policy school is also a plus as that always brings in US foreign policy expertise. Outside the top 10, I'd draw particular attention to  Ohio State (Richard Herrmann, Chris Gelpi, Bear Braumoeller, Randall Schweller - who, in combination, cover most of the theoretical approaches) and Penn (Michael Horowitz, Philip Tetlock, Edward Mansfield to some extent).