Spencer L Willardson
Please follow the links at the top of the page for more information.
About Me
I am currently an Associate Professor (as of August 2024) in the Department of Government at Stephen F. Austin State University. I was previously an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Nazarbayev University.
I earned my PhD in Political Science from the University of Iowa with major fields in International Relations and Comparative Politics and a minor field in Political Methodology in 2013. I research the foreign policy of arms with a focus on their role in shaping the relations between states. Before entering graduate school I was an enlisted soldier in the Utah Army National Guard. I was a Russian linguist and counterintelligence agent and served two combat tours in Iraq (2003-04 and 2007-08). I completed my enlisted service after 9 years and held the rank of Staff Sergeant.
I earned a Master in Strategic Intelligence degree while working full-time as a translator for the Reserve Language Support Project (RLSP) through the US Army. I was born in the small town of Ephraim, Utah and graduated from Payson High School in Payson, Utah in 1997. I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ukraine from 1998-2000. During my service in Ukraine I lived primarily in the Donbas (Donetsk and Gorlovka) but also spent 7 months living in Zaporozhye. This experience, along with my experiences in the military have had a profound influence on the way I see the world and in my interests in political science.
Interests
Arms Transfers
Foreign Policy
International Security
Military Detention and Prisoners of War
Education
PhD in Political Science, 2013
University of IowaMaster in Strategic Intelligence, 2007
American Military UniversityBS in Business Administration (Minor in Russian), 2005
Utah State University
Contact
Dr. Spencer L Willardson
Vera Dugas Liberal Arts North, Office 136
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, TX 75965
@Willardson_SL
Spencer.Willardson[at]sfasu.edu