Joseph M. Parent is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, recognized for his incisive scholarship on international relations, security studies, and grand strategy. His research explores how shifts in global power dynamics influence patterns of cooperation, conflict, and political integration. He is director of the Hans J. Morgenthau Program in Grand Strategy and has been a Kellogg Institute faculty fellow since 2025.
Parent is widely regarded for his ability to bridge theoretical analysis with real-world policy concerns, making significant contributions both in academia and in public discourse. He is the author of several influential books, including Uniting States: Voluntary Union in World Politics (Oxford University Press, 2011), which examines the rare phenomenon of states voluntarily unifying and its implications for global politics; American Conspiracy Theories (co-authored with Joseph Uscinski, Oxford University Press, 2014), a groundbreaking study of the origins and effects of conspiracy thinking in American public life; and Twilight of the Titans: Great Power Decline and Retrenchment (with Paul MacDonald, Cornell University Press, 2018), which challenges conventional wisdom about the dangers of great power decline and argues for the possibilities of peaceful retrenchment.
Parent’s articles appear in leading journals such as Foreign Affairs, International Security, World Politics, Sociological Theory, and History of Political Thought. His insights have shaped public understanding and policy debates, with coverage in prominent outlets including The Economist, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, New York Times, Scientific American, CBS, MSNBC, and NPR’s “This American Life.” He has also contributed to long-range strategic planning as an advisor to the National Intelligence Council for its Global Trends 2030 and 2035 reports.
Parent holds a PhD from Columbia University.