His research and teaching are in the areas of international relations, comparative foreign policy, and political psychology. He is the author of the book Imitation in International Relations: Observational Learning, Analogies, and Foreign Policy in Russia and Ukraine, as well as articles in leading academic journals including European Journal of International Relations, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Politics and World Politics. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (Michigan 2001) and an M.A. in Russian Area Studies (Georgetown 1995). Before joining the University of Sydney in 2008, he taught at other universities in Australia, Singapore, and the United States.