Dr. Rupal N. Mehta

Dr. Rupal N. Mehta is Chair of Research and Postdoctoral Fellows Program, and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She is an Associate Professor (on leave) in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Previously, she was a Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow in the Belfer Center's International Security Program and Project on Managing the Atom at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Her research interests lie in international security and conflict, with a specialization in nuclear proliferation/counterproliferation, extended deterrence, emerging technologies, and elite decision-making. Her first book, Delaying Doomsday: The Politics of Nuclear Reversal (Oxford University Press, 2020) explores the conditions under which nuclear aspirants stop their pursuit. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Strategic Studies, The Washington Quarterly and her commentary has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio (NPR), BBC News, War on the Rocks, International Studies Quarterly, and the Washington Post's Monkey Cage. She received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego, and B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Recent Publications

Why Cyber Dogs Have (Mostly) Failed to Bite,” War on the Rocks, March 2022 (with Jelena Vicic).

Atomic Ambiguity: Event Data Evidence on Latency and Cooperation, Journal of Conflict Resolution, March 22 (with Eleonora Mattiacci and Rachel Whitlark).

Nuclear Proliferation: The Next Wave in 2020. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, 2021 (with Rachel Whitlark).

Did the Killing of Qassim Suleimani Deter Iranian Attacks, or Encourage Them?, New York Times, 2020 (interviewed for article).

Inducements in Interstate Relations, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, 2019 (with Paige Cone).

Extended deterrence and assurance in an emerging technology environment, Journal of Strategic Studies, 2019.

Hedging Our Bets: Why Does Nuclear Latency Matter?, The Washington Quarterly, 2019 (with Rachel Whitlark).

The Unforeseen Consequences of Extended Deterrence: Moral Hazard in a Nuclear Protégé, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2017 (with Neil Narang).

The Benefits and Burdens of Nuclear Latency, International Studies Quarterly, 2017 (with Rachel Whitlark).

The Iran Nuclear Deal Isn’t So Great – for Iran, Washington Post (Monkey Cage), 2017.

Mr. Trump, Choose Your Own Adventure, Duck of Minerva, 2017.

Is a Nuclear-Armed Japan Inconceivable, War on the Rocks, 2016.

The Determinants of Nuclear Force Structure, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2014 (with Erik Gartzke and Jeffrey Kaplow).