Welcome to new professor Aaron Zack, who discusses his research on terrorism, domestic political violence, and international security, what he’ll be teaching this semester, and more in the academic year’s first Marxe faculty profile.

Can you tell us about your most recent research?
My current research focuses on terrorism, domestic political violence from both the far right and far left, and international security. I recently received a CUNY research grant to interview French policy makers and academics about French- Russian relations. I am also writing a review essay on American views about a potential Chinese assault on Taiwan. My latest publication focused on German- Russian relations.

How did you become interested in foreign policy, international security, political violence, and global conflict?
I became interested in foreign policy and global security as a child growing up during the Cold War. As students, the threat of a nuclear war was always in the background. Then the Cold War ended, and a ‘new’ set of security threats emerged. As a graduate student in Washington DC, I had a ringside seat to some of of the debates about how the United States ought to respond to these threats. So foreign policy is a subject that I have always been interested in, and I find it endlessly fascinating and enjoyable to think about and teach

What will you be teaching in the upcoming academic year?
In the Fall of 2023, I will be teaching Citizenship and Public Affairs to undergraduates in the Marxe School, and International Institutions and Global Governance to the Masters students. In the Spring of 2024, I will teach a graduate seminar on Terrorism and Politics, Citizenship and Public Affairs, and possibly another course on International Security. Last semester I taught a graduate seminar on terrorism in John Jay College’s Criminal Justice department. I look forward to teaching the graduate students at the Marxe School.

What drew you to the Marxe School and Baruch College?
As a native New Yorker, I returned here after graduate school and began teaching in the Political Science department at Baruch. What I particularly like about Baruch students are their open minds and varied backgrounds- there’s no one ’type’ of Baruch student, and that makes classroom discussions quite interesting.