Elizabeth M.F. Grasmeder draws on more than a decade of foreign policy experience to challenge fundamental assertions in international relations about the nature of national power. Her research examines the composition of modern militaries, covert action, and interstate and intrastate conflict. Elizabeth’s article in International Security and book project examine foreign military recruitment, and explain why modern states raise foreign legions and recruit legionnaires—soldiers who are neither citizens nor subjects of the governments they serve. For this research, she was honored to receive the American Political Science Association’s Catherine McArdle Kelleher Award for Best International Security Article for 2022.
In addition to peer-reviewed scholarship, Elizabeth has published or spoken about findings from her research in the Washington Post, War on the Rocks, and Lawfare. In the classroom, her teaching background includes courses on research methods, insurgency, the modern Middle East, and contemporary West Africa. In addition to her career in government, Elizabeth also serves as an adjunct professor of national security policy with Duke University. She holds a PhD in political science from the George Washington University, as well as an MA in Arab studies from Georgetown University and BS in foreign service, also from Georgetown University. Her research languages include Arabic, French, and German.