Dr. Barry Balleck

Biography

Dr. Barry J. Balleck received a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in international studies from Brigham Young University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder with emphases in international relations, American politics, and political theory. Upon completion of his degree, Dr. Balleck joined the faculty of Georgia Southern University, where he held a joint appointment in both the Department of Political Science and the Center for International Studies. Dr. Balleck currently serves as the chair and department head of the Department of Political Science at Georgia Southern University. For the past twenty years he has also directed Georgia Southern University’s Model United Nations (MUN) program, one of the oldest and most continuous programs of its kind in the country. Dr. Balleck has directed the Georgia Southern MUN delegation to several national awards and has conducted dozens of MUN conferences for middle and high school students from Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.

Dr. Balleck has research and teaching interests in the fields of international and domestic terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, the rhetoric of politics, the United Nations, and international human rights. He has dozens of conference presentations to his credit and has published in journals such as Presidential Studies Quarterly, Politics & Policy, and Peace Psychology Review. Dr. Balleck’s most recent publication is a book from Praeger Press entitled, “Allegiance to Liberty: The Changing Face of Patriots, Militias, and Political Violence in America.”

Research and Teaching Interests

International terrorism, international organizations, human rights, American foreign policy, global issues, international studies, rhetoric of international relations, political psychology, experiential learning, and Model United Nations.

Selected Publications 

• Allegiance to Liberty: The Changing Face of Patriots, Militias, and Political Violence in America. 2014. Praeger Press.
• “Making the World More Relevant for Students: Role Playing Exercises for the Classroom.” (with Darin Van Tassell) Politics & Policy, 32:345-381.
• “Realist/Idealist Texts: Psychometry and Semantics.” Peace Psychology Review, 1:38-44.
• “The Ends Justified the Means: Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, 22:679-96.

Last updated: 12/15/2023