- Emailfrakes.20@osu.edu
- Office
Columbus, OH 43210
Bio
Prior to joining the Chase Center, Frakes was an America in the World Consortium Postdoctoral Fellow at the Henry Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Frakes earned his Ph.D. in history at the University of Virginia. He also holds master’s degrees in international history from the University of Virginia, Columbia University, and the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University.
Frakes is a historian of U.S. foreign relations and national security. His research and teaching focus on understanding the evolution of the United States’ role in the world and how American leaders have framed their strategies and made decisions at moments of global change. He is the author of two forthcoming books set to be published in Spring 2026: Rogue States: The Making of America’s Global War on Terror (Cornell University Press) and Grenada 1983: American Resurgence towards the End of the Cold War (Osprey).
Areas of Expertise
- U.S. national security (especially with respect to the Middle East and Europe)
- U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy
- Terrorism and counterterrorism
- U.S. conflicts with rogue states (including Iran)
- U.S. efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and other WMD
- Presidential history, decision making, and elections
- U.S. military history and commemorations
- Cold War history