NOELLE C. TROUTMAN, Ph.D.
Arizona State University
Welcome! I am a 2023-2025 Security and Defense (S&D+) PluS Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. I will be joining the Department of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa as an assistant professor in Fall 2025.
I received my Ph.D. in political science in 2023 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and am a former 2021-2023 U.S.-Asia Grand Strategy Predoctoral Fellow at the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California. I study East Asian security, focusing on the U.S. alliance network in Asia. I specialize in alliance politics, nuclear security, and neuroeconomic decision-making.
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BIOGRAPHY
I received my B.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa, specializing in International Peace and Security and M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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Within my postdoctoral position, I contribute to research on the recently announced military partnership between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia (AUKUS). I assess the impact of this partnership on the region and its interaction with the existing American alliance network in Asia.
My own research is interested in assessing the quality and trajectory of American alliance ties with its East Asian allies, including South Korea and Japan-- with specific focus on the U.S.-South Korean military alliance. I care about understanding these relationships from the viewpoint of American allies and use these insights to inform both scholarship and policy.
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I enjoy running, reading, and listening to Seventeen and BTS.
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RESEARCH
Broadly, I am interested in topics of East Asian security, with specific focus on the U.S.-South Korean military alliance. Below are topics that I study extensively.
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Alliance Politics
How can a weaker ally, or 'protege,' coerce their stronger partner, or 'patron,' for greater autonomy? My primary argument is that proteges have agency; they can and do coerce their patron for greater autonomy. My dissertation project asks two interrelated questions. First, when can allied preferences diverge? Second, if allied disagreement is likely, how can a protege coerce their patron for greater autonomy? I argue that proteges with insecure regimes can threaten their own collapse to get their patron to give into their demands. This is a tough lies to get away with; patrons are therefore likely to concede when their protege does threaten it. Failure to do so would waste resources the patron has, and may currently, contribute to the protege's defense. I test this logic with casework on the U.S.-ROK and U.S-Japan military alliances and find support for the theory. Proteges are not always subjects of their patron's whims, they can and do coerce their patrons for greater autonomy.
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Nuclear Proliferation & Reversal
I am interested in the bargaining dynamics between influencers (i.e., counterproliferators) and targets (i.e., proliferators) to achieve a target's commitment to nuclear reversal. My research incorporates work from political neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, neuroeconomics, and political psychology to answer these questions by considering how variables such as ideology can influence the cost-benefit framework of elite actors to accept or reject negotiation opportunities for nuclear reversal. My current research with Dr. Rupal N. Mehta and Dr. Ingrid J. Haas seeks to further unpack the link between the neural processes associated with preference formation and behavior within these high-risk bargaining contexts.
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TEACHING AT UNL
Political Science 100: Introduction to American Politics (Recitation Sections & as Online Instructor)
This course is meant to provide students with an introduction to American politics. Students are given an overview of primary topics in American government including: the branches of government, public opinion, bureaucracy, and elections. Additionally, students are introduced to scientific methodology including data compilation and interpretation. Within recitation sections, students break down material learned in large lectures and engage in interactive activities.
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Political Science 160: Introduction to International Relations (Recitation Sections)
This course is meant to provide students with an introduction to international relations. We examine theoretical paradigms used to study IR along with major topics including: international security, human rights, and international political economy. Within recitation sections, students break down material learned in large lectures and engage in interactive activities.