Alumni Update: Don Casler '14

Don Casler graduated from Dartmouth College in 2014 with a major in Government and a minor in Public Policy. He is a veteran of the Government Department's London FSP and has fond memories of running in Regent's Park, trekking to LSE on the Tube, and occasionally enjoying one too many ciders at the Green Man. His senior thesis, which was awarded high honors by the Government Department, examined how the acquisition of nuclear weapons affects states' conflict behavior and found that new nuclear powers do not initiate or participate in more international disputes than they did before getting the bomb.

After Dartmouth, Don worked as a management consultant at Alvarez & Marzal in New York while applying to graduate school in political science. He began his Ph.D. in political science, with a focus in international relations, at Columbia University in fall 2016 and plans to defend his dissertation in spring 2022. At Columbia, he studies topics at the intersection of international security and international political economy, with particular focus on U.S. foreign policy, organizational theory, and political psychology. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Don plans to secure a postdoctoral fellowship and/or assistant professorship at a major U.S. university.

Don is particularly grateful to the Government Department and Rockefeller Center for giving him his start in political science and public policy. He would specifically like to thank Professor Jennifer Lind for teaching him how to write properly while leading the London FSP in fall 2012; Professors Daryl Press and Benjamin Valentino for their continued support and mentorship; and Professors Andrew Samwick and Charles Wheelan for always making him think about the policy relevance and implementation challenges associated with the findings of his research.