Welcome!  I am a postdoctoral fellow with the Reimagining World Order research community at Princeton University.  I received my Ph.D. from Princeton’s Department of Politics in May of 2025, under the supervision of professors G. John Ikenberry, Melissa Lee, and Jamie Martin.  I also hold an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Political Science from Sam Houston State University.

My research focuses on alternative configurations of authority in international politics.  My book project, tentatively titled Free Cities, International Zones, and Liminal States: Territorial Sovereignty in Modern International Order, examines internationalized territories as a distinct form of political rule characterized by multiple external actors cooperatively exercising sovereignty over a space in a manner that displaces the indigenous state.  I identify 23 cases spanning from 1815 to the present and explain where, why, and how these cases are placed under international rule.  In synthesizing these historical cases, my research provides a foundation for understanding how international governance may help to resolve contemporary conflicts.  My secondary research interests involve Cold War grand strategy and the intellectual history of neoconservative foreign policy.

I have experience teaching courses on international relations theory and grand strategy at Princeton, where I received the George Kateb Preceptor Award.  I also assisted with the teaching of “Inside the Situation Room” at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, under Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Clinton. In the 2024-2025 academic year, I was a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s International Security Center.

My c.v. can be viewed here. Contact me at penatzer@princeton.edu.