NerdWork
Rex A. Childers, PhD
I focus on the exercise of American power in the world, both “hard” and “soft" (whether it is “smart power” or not is another question). My experience as a U.S. Army veteran, business owner, and university instructor informs my views and scholarly interests, reading habits, and the content on this site. Having experienced life outside of the United States, both in the developed and developing world, the question of “American Exceptionalism” (the founding ideas, U.S. Constitution, amendments and critical restatements of principles as the nation grappled with social, political, and personal challenges) remains at the forefront of my intellectual curiosity. I approach foreign relations history from a rational choice perspective, incorporating principles from game theory and adding in cultural and social analysis accessing Social Capital Theory with its emphasis on associations, networks, trust, and the role of these factors in achieving core and peripheral American national interests.
For a look at some of my past work on American foreign relations, please feel free to visit the links listed below. Academic Jargon Warning: Several of these are online documents written to complete advanced degrees, requiring some use of theoretical and conceptual structures - The abstracts for the works give a brief description, and the Table of Contents are also good clues to skip to the most interesting sections for reading!
Cold Warriors, Good Neighbors, Smart Power: U.S. Army, Berlin, 1961-1994, completed dissertation, Beth A. Griech-Polelle, Advisor, Bowling Green State University, 2015. available online at https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_olink/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=bgsu1435760823
The Rationality of Nonconformity: The United States Decision to Refuse Ratification of Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions, 1949, completed masters thesis, Gary A. Hess, Chair, Bowling Green State University, 2008. available online at https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_olink/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=bgsu1214247432.
“United States Military Law of War Doctrine: Making the International Criminal Court Irrelevant to the Ground Combat Forces of the United States in the Early Twenty-First Century.” Closing chapter in The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial and Its Policy Consequences Today, 2nd edition, Revised, Beth Griech-Polelle, ed. (Baden-Baden, Germany: NOMOS Publishing, 2021) p. 259-270.
“World War II’s International Humanitarian Law legacy: A history of hopeful progress and regressive diplomacy based upon ‘military necessity’”. Paper presented at the 2013 Society for Military History Annual Conference, March 15, 2103, New Orleans.
