Mike Habegger is Assistant Professor of Political Science (tenure track) in the College of Liberal Arts at Louisiana Tech University. He earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science & International Relations at the University of Delaware. His work has appeared in The Journal of Global Security Studies, International Relations, The Journal of European Integration, Experimental Political Science, and Review of European Studies.
Formally trained in International Relations and Comparative Politics, his research focuses on international communication and global security, with a substantive focus on the everyday happenings on social media. It relies heavily on his earlier work on the concepts of subjectivity and the public sphere situated within liberal democratic political theory. His work is influenced by the English school of international relations, literature on internet politics, political communication, and social movements / networks. As such, he attempts to push theoretical arguments–that everyday people form thin collectivities founded on the common practice of information sharing–into the subfields of international relations and global security studies. Mike employs computational methods to analyze big text data from social media networks to provide empirical depth to canonical concepts in these fields. Mike has published work on Russian disinformation campaigns, digital diplomacy and international organizations, and the English School of International Relations. He has researched the transnational far-right, the social media behavior of political parties in Germany, and is currently working on a book project attempting to conceptualize digital crisis diplomacy by analyzing the social media responses to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He has also authored a textbook on the political psychology of voting behavior with David P. Redlawsk.
Mike received a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from McDaniel College (Westminster, MD) and an M.A. in Political Science from Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA). Prior to enrolling at Virginia Tech, Mike served in AmeriCorps working in the non-profit community health sector.
Mike is also proud to let people know he was the editor-in-chief of his college newspaper for two years, and was the drum major for his high school band.
In his free time, Mike frets over current happenings in politics, hangs out with his wife, Kate, and his cat, Millie. He cheers on the Eagles as they win Super Bowls, and laments being a committed Sixers fan.
Mike lived in Wilmington, Delaware, before and during the Joe Biden presidency, which presented him with a unique perspective on political campaigns and the rootedness of liberal democratic politics.
Mike and his wife are happy to call North Louisiana their home.
Mike Habegger, Ph.D. 