Department of Political Science

On July 30, 2026. Dr. Ionut C. Popescu published an article in The American Conservative titled The Iran War Is Lose-Lose. In the article, Dr. Popescu argues that The Iran War promulgates a vicious cycle between Washington and Tehran that is born out of a misunderstanding in the relationship between coercive military pressure and regime capitulation.

In particular, Dr. Popescu highlights that although the United States has achieved short-term tactical successes through the aerial bombardment of key Iranian infrastructure, the war has failed in a strategic manner due to how it has failed to achieve long-term goals such as thwarting the development of Iranian military / nuclear capabilities and inciting the capitulation of the regime through popular revolt. In essence, the United States’s reliance on coercive pressure has only led to entrenchment of Iran’s regime and its “doctrine of resistance.” 

Dr. Popescu writes “Further U.S. military force is in fact actively counterproductive to creating favorable political change in Iran because the perception of foreign sponsorship delegitimizes opposition movements, as shown in this case by the ascendancy of hardliners to positions of power after the killing of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other leaders.” 

Using the realist school of thought, Dr. Popescu concludes that the Iranian war leads to the continued depletion of American financial and military resources in a way that actively inhibits its capacity for international deterrence. In effect, as the United States continues pursuing a strategy of coercive pressure, it will continue to lose financial and military resources that will create vulnerability in the Pacific, where rising hegemonies such as China are incentivized to take action against U.S. allies and interests. As opposed to continuing the conflict, it is mutually beneficial to both states for the war to end so that the United States is able to rebuild the capital / arms necessary for deterrence in the Pacific, and to allow for capital to flow back into the Middle East so that adjacent states are less vulnerable and volatile. 

Ionut Popescu is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas State University and Graduate Director of the Masters in Political Science program. Dr. Popescu is the author of No Peer Rivals: American Grand Strategy in the Era of Great Power Competition (University of Michigan Press, 2025) and Emergent Strategy and Grand Strategy: How American Presidents Succeed in Foreign Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017).

You can read the article here.

On Wednesday, September 2nd, more than 250 students, faculty, and staff gathered for the Department of Political Science’s Fall Open House event. The event welcomed both new and returning students and highlighted the department’s academic programs and available resources.

Those in attendance connected with faculty members, met departmental staff, and built relationships with graduate students in a welcoming environment. Attendees learned more about the department’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs, student services, internship opportunities, and upcoming events for the semester.  

Sarah Trayhan, a graduate student of Political Science who attended the event, said, “I love that Texas State University hosts an Open House for its students; it allows for our community to grow and fosters engagement for our incoming students!”

On Tuesday, September 1st, more than 60 students attended the Department of Political Science’s annual “Meet the Professors” event, hosted by Discourse in Democracy. The event gave political science and public administration majors / minors the opportunity to meet with faculty and to learn about the courses they teach, their backgrounds, and their areas of interest.   

Students in attendance had a chance to learn about their majors and about various groups associated with the department including Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society; Supporting Women in Political Science (SWIPS); Model Organization of American States; Mock Trial, and Model United Nations. Afterwards, students mingled with faculty and representatives over pizza, cookies, and sodas. 

Isabel Duarte, a graduate student of Political Science and TA for the Department who attended the event, said, “Meet the Professors was such a great opportunity to chat with professors in a casual setting and learn more about what the Department of Political Science at TXST has to offer to new students!”

On July 18, 2026, the CENTEX Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) conducted an Awards Luncheon to recognize outstanding scholarship and public service. 

Awards were presented to public administrators from local governments in the area in recognition of their outstanding service to the public. In addition, Master of Public Administration (MPA) students at Texas State University were recognized for their research and scholarship. The featured speakers at the Awards Luncheon included James Earp, the recipient of the William P. Hobby Distinguished Public Service Award, Alan & Sheila Bojorquez, sponsors of the 10 Traits of Good Government Award and representatives from the Cities of Ransom Canyon and Pharr Texas who were the first recipients of the Balanoff Good Government Award.

The James McGrew Research Award for distinguished scholarship was presented to students from Texas State University’s MPA Program including that of Amberlee Adams for their project titled “Describing the Perceptions of Students and Explaining Their Performance After the Prescribed Fire Practitioner/Foundational Firing Operations Course” and Hannah Amaya for their project titled “Gauging Interagency Collaboration in the ‘One County, One Protocol’ Model for School Emergency Management in Hays County, Texas.” Both students were directed by Dr. Nandhini Rangarajan of Texas State’s MPA program. 

Further, 2 Texas State MPA students were recognized as recipients of the Clarence Ridley Texas City Management Association (TCMA) Scholarship, including that of Hannah Kriese and Walker Allee. In addition, 2 MPA students named as Fellows by the International City County Management Association (ICMA) were recognized for their outstanding scholarship. This includes Riyanka Aryal and Joa Brown. 

Students from Texas State University’s MPA Program were recognized for receiving a Francis Rich Family scholarship, including that of Elegy Garcia, Jazmin Guevara, Christina Kattikatt, and Hannah Kriese. Finally, MPA students graduating in the Summer 2026 semester were inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration. Inductees included Riyanka Aryal, Savanna Batson, Julia Lynn Hester, Syeda Zareen Jahan, Hannah Kriese, Ishrat Jahan Ritu, Sonia Shahsavari, Kazi Halimatus Sadia, and Becky Vacek-Schmidt. 

Dylann Engle, a student who attended, commented that “the Centex ASPA luncheon is always such a great opportunity for networking between various generations of public servants. It’s a gathering where students, faculty, and local community leaders are able to come together to recognize and support one-another’s accomplishments.” She added, “The bestowing of the first-ever Balanoff Good Government Awards was an absolute highlight of the evening.” 

For additional information about the activities and programs of CENTEX ASPA and the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service please contact Dr. Howard Balanoff at hb02@txstate.edu.

On July 6, 2026, Dr. Paul R. DeHart was interviewed by Jeffery Church of the Political Theory Review, a podcast centered around initiating conversations with scholars of political theory, about his book The Social Contract in Ruins: Natural Law and Government by Consent (University of Missouri Press, 2024). 

The nature of the interview focused on a general overview of DeHart’s publication and a discussion over its key arguments. DeHart and Church focus on the limitations of social contract theory, alongside the role of consent, human equality, regime legitimization, and so on, in light of the work of political thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rawls. In contrast to social contract theory, he argued, natural law theory provides a better foundation for government by the consent of the governed.

Dr. DeHart is Professor of Political Science at Texas State University, where he has taught since August 2009. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. DeHart specializes in the American founding, early modern political theory, the grounds of political authority and obligation, the relationship between religion and political order, and natural law. and constitutional design.  

You can listen to the interview through Podomatic here.

The work of a long-time member of the Department of Political Science, Dr. Don Inbody, was cited by the Supreme Court in its June 29, 2026, opinion in Watson v. Republican National Committee. The case concerned whether federal election-day statutes require absentee ballots to be received by Election Day or merely postmarked by that day.

The court cited Inbody’s book The Soldier Vote: War, Politics, and the Ballot in America (Palgrave McMillain, 2016) to tell the story of how Americans in the armed forces gained the right to vote while away from home. It describes complexities of military voting as well as how politicians of both political parties vociferously resisted this right.

“I was quite surprised to learn that my book had been cited in the Supreme Court’s Watson decision, and even more surprised to see the opinion quoted directly from it,” Inbody said. “It is gratifying ,” he continued, to know that the Court found The Soldier Vote useful enough to cite in such a landmark decision. As a scholar, there is no higher compliment than knowing your research has contributed, even in a small way, to the Court’s understanding of an important constitutional issue.” 

Dr. Donald S. Inbody taught at Texas State from 2008 until his retirement in 2019. A senior lecturer in the department, he served at sea in the United States Navy for 28 years, retiring as a Captain. He holds a PhD in Government from the University of Texas.