The Basics of Global Politics

Dr. Raluca Viman-Miller is an assistant professor at University of North Georgia (UNG). She has a Ph.D. from Georgia State University, a master’s degree from Georgia Southern University, and she completed her undergraduate work at “Babes-Bolyai” University in Cluj-Napoca Romania. She has completed research and published on issues such as the impact of migration on political behavior, political communication, and regional and bilateral relations with implications on the European security. She teaches classes on Global Issues, Comparative Politics, European Politics, International Relations, and American Government at undergraduate and graduate level.

Dr. Dlynn Armstrong Williams came to North Georgia College in 1997 after completing her Ph.D. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Her graduate work focused on international security, East Asian politics, comparative foreign policy and international relations theory. Throughout her time at the University of North Georgia (UNG), Dr. Williams has received awards in both teaching and scholarship. She has been recognized for her internationalization efforts nationally. Due to her strong interest in internationalization, she served as the founding Director of UNG’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE) and currently serves as the Department Head of the Political Science and International Affairs Department.

Dr. Craig Greathouse, professor of political science, earned a Ph.D. in political science with specialties in international relations and comparative politics from Claremont Graduate School. He also received an M.A. in political science from the University of Akron. Dr. Greathouse has published on topics addressing European foreign policy, Security and Defense policy, Strategic Culture, Strategic Thought, International Relations theory, and Cyber War. He is a member of the control staff for the National Security Decision Making Game and runs simulations for diverse groups ranging from gaming conventions such as Dragon Con to the National Defense University.

Dr. Jake Greear holds a Ph.D. in political science and teaches political theory and environmental politics in the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University. His research concerns the political, economic, and philosophical implications of current environmental crises. His recent publications include “Decentralized Production and Affective Economies: The Ecological Implications of Localism” in Environmental Humanities.

Dr. Christian Harris joined the University of North Georgia (UNG) in 2005. He earned a Ph.D. in political science in 2001 and a M.A. in international relations in 1992 from the University of Delaware. He also received a Licenciatura en Relaciones Internacionales from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario in Argentina. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on International Political Economy, Global Governance, International Organization, Development, Comparative Government, Latin American Politics, and the international affairs survey course, Global Issues. He has published book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals dealing primarily with comparative global development and public diplomacy.

Dr. Scott Meachum is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) at the University of North Georgia (UNG). He received his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law and his Ph.D. from Florida State University. His research and teaching interests reflect a broad interest in public law at both the domestic and international levels. He teaches classes in International Law, American Constitutional Law, International Law, and various courses regarding judicial politics and judicial processes.

Dr. Jonathan Miner is a professor of political science and international Affairs, tenured at UNG since 2012. Specializing in the field of international relations, Dr. Miner’s areas of teaching and scholarship focus on U.S. foreign policy, Turkish/Middle Eastern politics, and international law. Dr. Miner received his Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of South Carolina, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Iowa, a J.D. from Drake University, and his undergraduate degree in English Literature from Indiana University Bloomington. A former Chicago real estate and tax lawyer, Dr. Miner’s activities at UNG include Director of Internships for the International Affairs degree program and adviser of the Model United Nations team.

Dr. Nathan Price is an assistant professor of political science and international affairs at the University of North Georgia’s (UNG) Blue Ridge Campus. He completed a bachelor’s degree in political science and history at Miami University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science at Louisiana State University. He studied at Miami University’s Dolibois European Center located in Luxembourg. He has been actively involved in promoting community engagement since joining the faculty at UNG in 2015. He collaborated with Dr. Renee Bricker on a project to incorporate Turbovote (a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting voter registration on college campuses) into the existing online platforms at its partner academic institutions. Additionally, he works closely alongside colleagues in the Blue Ridge Scholars program, a learning community they created that incorporates service learning into core academic courses. His research interests are primarily focused on European politics.

Dr. Sam Rohrer, associate professor of political science, holds a Ph.D. in political science with specializations in international relations and comparative politics from Louisiana State University, in addition to an M.H.A. specializing in management from Missouri State University. His areas of interest include leadership style and trait analysis, secession, maritime crime, and terrorism.

Dr. Jennifer Schiff has served as a faculty member in the political science and public affairs department at Western Carolina University since 2010. Her research agenda focuses on global water policy and the human right to water, as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning, with a specific emphasis on classroom simulation. Dr. Schiff teaches a variety of undergraduate classes on international politics and has received several teaching awards during her career at both the university and state level, to include the 2020 UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Seyed Hamid Serri is an assistant professor of security studies at the University of North Georgia (UNG). His research interests focus on strategic culture, role theory, operational code analysis, and discourse analysis. His two upcoming works include “League of Nations: Strategic Preferences of the United States at the End of WWI” in Craig Greathouse and Austin Riede (Eds.), U.S. Security Issues and World War I (University of North Georgia Press, forthcoming) and “Operational Code Analysis: A Method for Measuring the Strategic Culture” in Stephen Walker and Mark Schafer (Eds.), Operational Code Analysis and Foreign Policy Roles: Crossing Simon’s Bridge (Routledge).

Dr. Laurel Wei is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs and an affiliate faculty member of East Asian Studies at the University of North Georgia, Dahlonega campus. Her areas of research focus on the international relations of East Asia, Chinese foreign policy, East Asian international political economy, and qualitative content analysis. She has taught a variety of introductory and upper-level undergraduate courses, such as global issues, comparative government, East Asian political systems, and Chinese politics.

Dr. Dwight Wilson is an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the University of North Georgia. He specializes in Comparative Politics and Latin American politics, and his research interests concern the intersection of ideas and politics.