Current Position:  Department Head Country of Origin: United States

Courses taught at Webster

• Graduate and Undergraduate Seminars on Terrorism and Political Violence
• Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods
• International Relations Theory
• International Security/Energy Security
• US Foreign Policy and US National Institutions

   

Education

• Dr.Phil (Political Science) University of Vienna (2010)
• M.A. (International Relations) Webster University (2008)
• B.A. (Political Science) George Washington University: (1988)

Background and Facts

A graduate of George Washington University’s Political Science program, Samuel R. Schubert has worked for the United Nations and think tanks in Washington, conducted studies for the European Parliament, and lectured at the multiple universities and research institutes. He joined Webster University Vienna in 2007 as a Research Fellow and became a member of the research faculty team in 2009. He completed his Ph.D at the University of Vienna, writing on the feedback loop between national energy policies and international cooperation and conflict.

Dr. Schubert's research is structured in two interrelated tracks: energy and political violence. His energy research built on three pillars. The first pillar focuses on establishing a framework for comparing internal energy policies. The main hypothesis is that national energy policy formation can be understood in a utility-first and market-second approach tied to objective national interests. The second pillar examines the affects of internal energy policies on external outcomes and in particular testing the suggestion that inter-state competition for energy resources leads to conflict. The main hypothesis here is that evidence linking energy to international war is scant and often anecdotal, even though it is visibly important and essential to mobility and power projection. The third pillar focuses on investigations into the Resource Curse and how it makes afflicted states unreliable supply partners due to their vulnerability to exogenous shocks. The main hypothesis here is that countries overly dependent on mineral exports are likely to be highly securitized, stratified societies with imbalanced economies and few political freedoms.

The second track of his research focuses on political violence and trends in terrorism and counter-terrorism. The underlying hypothesis of this work is that terrorism is increasingly becoming a successful tactic of warfare for weaker forces engaged in asymmetric conflicts against large open societies. Some significant features of that tactic are the increasing roles of religion, women, and the franchising of ideologies and organizations. Emerging features include the targeting and protection of critical infrastructure by non-state actors and the adoption of indirect warfare techniques by states as a means of counter-terrorism strategies.

Finally, together with Prof. Pollak, Dr. Schubert also works on the two additional topics of representation in federal systems and the perception of the EU in international negotiations. In additional to his immediate academic activities, Dr. Schubert also is an active member of the American Political Science Association and works closely with an international community of scholars on the protection of cultural property in times of conflict.

Selected Publications

• Die Energiepolitik der EU with J.Pollak & P. Smolinski. (2010)  Vienna: UTB/Facultas.
• “Savior or Achilles Heel: Turkish Membership in the Context of EU Energy Policy” (2010)  Paper presented with J. Pollak at the 68^th Annual Midwest Political Science Association National Conference (April 22-25, Chicago).
• A Comparative Analysis of Systemic Opportunities and Constraints in US and UK Energy Policy Formulation: Implications for Inter-State Relations (2008) Ann Arbor: ProQuest/UMI.
• Being Rich in Energy Resources – A Blessing or a Curse, (2007) Report to the Directorate General, External Policies of the Union, Brussels: European Parliament.
• “Revisiting the Oil Curse” in Development 49.3 September 2006.
• The asymmetric power of terrorism (2007) George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies: Garmisch; available in English, German, and Russian. Also available in Schröfl/Cox/Pankratz (eds.) (2009) Winning the Asymmetric War, Political, Social and Military Responses, New York: Peter Lang.
•  “In Search of that Valid Terrorist Profile” in Schröfl (Edt.): Political Asymmetries in the Era of Globalization, Frankfurt, Peter Lang: 2007.
•  “In Search of that Valid Terrorist Profile: Debunking myths behind the violence” (2007) presented at the 2007 Biennial International Conference of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Chicago, 27 October, 2007.
• “La política exterior de Estados Unidos” (2007) Bien Comùn, No. 153.
• “Protecting Cultural Property in Times of War: The non-state actor dilemma” (2009) in Proceedings of the Conference on Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times Of Armed Conflict, Tallinn: Estonian Heritage Society.