Mike Sweeney

A campus building at dusk with its lights on
Titles and Organizations

Schar School of Policy and Government PhD in Political Science student

About

B.A., Catholic University of America, Politics
M.A., Catholic University of America, Politics

Research Interests

Maritime power, nuclear strategy, undersea warfare, geography, Chinese naval forces, NATO

Dissertation

Three-Dimensional Chess in the Pacific: How Technology Shapes Maritime Geography

Dissertation Chair

Colin Dueck

Publications

"On Limited Nuclear Use in the Western Pacific," Defense Priorities (August 2025). 

"Challenges to Chinese Blue-Water Operations," Defense Priorities (April 2024).

"How Would Europe Defend Itself?" Defense Priorities (April 2023). 

"Submarines Will Reign in a War with China," Proceedings (March 2023) First-Prize, Annual Essay Contest.

"NATO, Ukraine, and Nuclear Weapons," The Wavell Room (October 2022). 

"How Militarily Useful Would Taiwan Be to China?" Defense Priorities (April 2022).