Jeffrey Ritter

Contact Information

Department of Political Science
Rutgers University
89 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1411

Email:jeffritt@rci.rutgers.edu

Home:
322 Garden St # 3
Hoboken, NJ 07030

Tel:(201) 222-5791

Employment

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, September 2004-present

Adjunct Instructor, Department of Political Science, Rutgers University, September 2001-August
2004

Education

Harvard University Ph.D. in Government, May 2004
Interstate Conflict, Formal and Quantitative Methods

M.A. in International Relations, May 1993
The Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced International
Studies (SAIS)

University of Michigan A.B. in Political Science, May 1991
China Studies, International Economics

Dissertation

Silent Partners: Secret Alliances in International Politics
Advising Committee: Prof. Lisa Martin (Chair), Prof. Christopher Gelpi, Prof. Andrew Kydd
Although secret alliances were commonly employed by the great powers for centuries, there has
been virtually no systematic eort to study their origins or eects. Formal alliance treaties are
commonly understood as signaling devices, but it is hard to see how secret alliances could deter
aggressors or intimidate enemies. Using formal models informed by historical research, I identify
conditions under which states prefer to form secret alliances rather than public alliances, and I
explore how secret alliances aected crisis bargaining between the European major powers in the
Nineteenth Century.

Publications

“Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions 1815–1944,” (with Brett Ashley Leeds, Sara McLaughlin
Mitchell, and Andrew G. Long) International Interactions 28, 3 (July–September 2002):237–260.

“Know Thine Enemy: Information and Democratic Foreign Policy,” in Bernard I. Finel and Kristin
M. Lord, eds., Power and Conflict in the Age of Transparency. New York: Palgrave, 2000.

“Tau-b or Not Tau-b: Measuring the Similarity of Alliances and Interests.” (with Curtis S. Signorino)
International Studies Quarterly 43, 1 (March 1999): 115–144.

Book Reviews

“Dangerous Alliances” by Patricia Weitsman. Perspectives on Politics, forthcoming.
Book Review: “Alliance Politics” by Glenn Snyder. Harvard International Review 20, 1 (Winter
1997–1998): 90–91.

“The Tragedy of Cambodian History” and “Brother Number One” by David P.
Chandler. SAIS Review, Winter 1990.

Working Papers and Conference Presentations

Strategic Deterrent Ambiguity
with Adaptive Challengers. Work in progress.

Alliance Design and Extended Deterrence: Empirical Estimation of a Strategic Model (with Curt
Signorino). Work in progress.

The Signaling–Model Approach to Alliance Politics: A Survey and Assessment. Prepared for the
New Directions on Alliance Research Conference, sponsored by the Program on Foreign Policy

Decision-Making, Texas A&M University, April 26, 2003. Earlier drafts presented at the 2003

Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association in Portland, Oregon and the IR/History
Workshop at Rutgers University.

Bismarck’s Barricade: The Strategic Significance of Standing Alliances in Nineteenth-Century Europe.
Presented at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston,MA.

One Hand Clapping: Audience Costs, Signaling, and the Alliance Security Dilemma. Early draft
presented at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, Chicago, IL.

Anticipation, Reaction, and Deterrence by Alliance. Presented at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the
American Political Science Association, Washington D.C.

Confounding Counter-measures: Secret Alliances and the Military Advantage of Surprise. Presented
at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, GA.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Secret Alliances under Complete Information. Presented at the 1999 Annual
Meeting of the International Studies Association, Washington, D.C.

Invisible Ink: Signaling and Secrecy in Alliance Politics. Presented at the 1998 Annual Meeting of
the Peace Science Society (International), East Brunswick, NJ.

Scraps of Paper and Invisible Ink: Making Sense of Secret Alliances. Poster presentation at the
1998 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA.

Know Thine Enemy: Information and Democratic Foreign Policy. Presented at the 1997 Annual
Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C.

Tau-b or Not Tau-b: Measuring the Similarity of Alliance Portfolios and Interests. With Curtis
S. Signorino. Presented at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association,
Chicago, IL.

Counter-demands and Concessions in the International Interaction Game. Working paper, 1997.

Teaching

Political Science 322: The Strategic Approach to International Relations
Undergraduate lecture, Rutgers University.

Political Science 349: Rational Choice Models and Politics
Undergraduate lecture, Rutgers University.

Political Science 395: Alliance Politics
Undergraduate seminar, Rutgers University.

Political Science 634: Game Theory for Political Science
Graduate seminar, Rutgers University.

Political Science 644: Applied Formal Models in Political Science

Graduate Seminar, Rutgers University.

Memberships, Training, and Service

Member, American Political Science Association,
International Studies Association, Midwest Political
Science Association, Peace Research Society
(International), Game Theory Society.

Referee for American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, International Organization,
International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Theoretical
Politics, Journal of Peace Research.

Exchange Scholar, Department of Political Science, Columbia University, Spring 1998, 1999.

ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methodology, Summer 1994.

Editorial Board of the SAIS Review, 1992–1993.

Staff Intern for The Asia Foundation’s Center for Asian Pacific Aairs, Washington D.C., Summer
1992

Middlebury College Chinese Lanuage Clinic, Summer 1991.

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