Department of Political Science and Philosophy

So proud of our graduates! 👏

Happy Mothers Day! 🎉 The Department recognizes and celebrates the contributions of mothers in Political Science, Philosophy, and throughout the university. 👏

Join us in celebrating Dr. Ashley Leinweber, Dr. Indira Palacios-Valladares, and the Model United Nations! Recognized for their outstanding achievements, each received a major award at the Judy Awards hosted by the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH). Named in honor of Judith Enyeart Reynolds, the Judy Awards celebrate the excellence of Reynolds College community members.

Taking home the Dean's Champion Award, the Model United Nations was highlighted as an organization whose work impacts the entirety of the Reynolds College in a positive way. Especially after an outstanding season with multiple regional awards, the Model United Nations exemplifies the diligence and diplomacy of our Citizen-Bears.

Receiving the Outstanding Research in the Social Sciences Award, Dr. Indira Palacios-Valladares was recognized for her continued commitment to excellence in academic scholarship. In addition to peer-reviewed papers and a book, she has a second book forthcoming at the end of this year. The book is a comparative study of student movement politics in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, and will be published by Cambridge University Press, one of the leading academic publishers in the field.

Dr. Ashley Leinweber received the Outstanding Teaching in the Social Sciences Award in recognition of demonstrated teaching excellence in the social sciences. Teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses, Dr. Leinweber brings both experience and expertise to classes such as African Politics, International Organizations, and Nonstate Actors.

We are honored to be working with such a committed team of citizen-scholars. Congratulations, all! 👏🐻

Proud of our alumni 👏

Alumni highlight! Takashi Kawamoto arrived at Missouri State University in 2009 with one semester of language study at Boston University behind him and very little else of the United States. He reported the first weeks were difficult — but the difficulty lifted quickly, through professors who pulled him into office-hours conversations and classmates who argued with him until he could argue back.

In his first semester at MSU, he co-authored an op-ed with Dr. Dennis Hickey — a leading voice on Taiwan and U.S.–China relations — published in China Daily. The piece reached the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York, which led to a summer internship there. After graduating with a Masters of Global Studies in May 2011, this internship led directly to entry into Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The career that followed has moved across diplomacy, multilateral institutions, and the private sector: at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Tokyo and the Consulate General in Honolulu; strategy consulting at Deloitte, where he was named Best Consultant of the Year; strategic adviser to the World Economic Forum; United Nations officer at the Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Brussels, leading EU advocacy for the Sendai Framework; Director at Brunswick Group in Tokyo and Washington, DC, leading the firm's U.S.–Japan business and advising Fortune 500 and major Japanese corporations on cross-border M&A and crisis response; and Head of Global M&A and Corporate Strategy at Kansai Paint, a Tokyo Prime–listed industrial.

In late 2025, he founded Global Samurai Advisory, a U.S.–Japan advisory practice. Now based in Zionsville, IN with his wife Emiko (BS, Marketing, MSU) and their daughter Emma, and moving regularly between Tokyo, Chicago, Washington, DC, and New York, he advises chairs, CEOs, and founders on cross-border decisions between the two countries. He will begin his Executive MBA at Northwestern Kellogg in September 2026.

Mark your calendars! 🎓 Join us in celebrating our Political Science and Philosophy graduates at Missouri State University's Commencement May 8th! The Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities ceremony will featured at 5PM at the Great Southern Bank Arena. 🐻🎉 We look forward to seeing you there!

So proud! 👏

Join the Department of Political Science and Philosophy April 13th for the latest installment in the popular Conversation Series! Featuring Doctors Carson Holloway and Alan Gibson, this discussion will cover an ever-relevant topic: What binds us together as a nation? We hope to see you there!

Earlier this month, the Department was honored to host Professors David Romano and Djene Bajalan to discuss the Iran war.

Dr. Romano, a Thomas G. Strong Professor of Middle East Politics, has authored numerous publications on the Kurds and the Middle East, including two books. Dr. Bajalan, a historian of the Middle East, authored of "Jön Kürtler: Birinci Dünya Savasi’ndan Önce Kürt Hareketi 1898-1914" (The Young Kurds: The Kurdish movement before the First World War)(Avesta, 2010) and was co-editor of "Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnic and Islam" (Routledge, 2015).

Both brought insightful perspectives to the war, assessing strategy and possible outcomes. Thank you, Dr. Bajalan and Dr. Romano! 👏

ALUMNI FEATURE! Zoie graduated in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Nonprofit Organizational Leadership. She currently serves as the Evergreen Public School District Outreach Coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Washington. In this role, she works at the intersection of youth development, violence prevention, and community-based intervention in Vancouver, Washington (Clark County). Her work focuses on supporting youth most impacted by systemic inequities, particularly families experiencing homelessness, economic instability, exposure to group- and gang-related violence, and proximity to high-risk social networks.

Through a combination of prevention strategies, targeted intervention, and community outreach, Zoie helps interrupt cycles of violence by connecting young people to consistent mentorship, community resources, and opportunities. At its core, her work is rooted in advancing community safety through equity rather than enforcement, while addressing the upstream conditions that contribute to systemic violence.

In recognition of her leadership and impact, Zoie was recently personally invited to apply for the Vancouver Civic Leadership Institute (VCLI), a selective fellowship dedicated to preparing emerging leaders of color to serve on municipal boards and commissions. The program focuses on advancing racial and social justice through civic engagement, policy advocacy, and leadership development across sectors such as housing, public health, economic development, and criminal justice reform.

Her work reflects a deep commitment to bridging direct service and systems-level change, ensuring that the voices of communities most impacted by inequity are represented in the decisions that shape them. This commitment was strongly shaped by her time at Missouri State University, where she was challenged to think critically about systems, policy, and equity. As she looks toward the future and applies to public policy programs on the West Coast, the mentorship and support she received from faculty within the Political Science Department have played a key role in preparing her for this work.