Welcome!

I am a PhD candidate in political science at Boston University studying international relations and comparative politics. I am a 2025-2026 U.S. – Asia Grand Strategy Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California.

My research interests include international security, state building, bureaucratic politics, and political economy, with a particular focus on how states translate economic resources into military power. I also work on the foreign policy and politics of the United States, Japan, and East Asia more broadly. For my dissertation project, I examine industrial mobilization for war. I examine how states translate economic resources into military power during wartime and why some states are more effective at this than others.

Previously, I worked as a Research Associate for the Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as a Senior Associate with the Defense Practice at The Asia Group, and on the Japan Desk at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

My published research can be found in the Texas National Security Review and Defence Studies. I hold a BA in History and Japanese and an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

I live with my wife, 2-year-old son, and dog outside Boston.

You can reach me at sgerstle@bu.edu.