Heidi Hardt

Associate Professor of Political Science UC Irvine

  • Irvine CA

Hardt is an expert on NATO, international organizations, defense, security, military ops and gender. www.heidihardt.com

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Spotlight

2 min

Covering the new Trump Administration - We can Help

With each day seems to come an new appointee to cabinet or significant role, a new policy twist and even the occasional walk back or withdrawal. The steps leading up to January 20, 2025 when Donald Trump resumes office as President of the United States will be getting a lot of coverage and UC Irvine has it's own team of experts ready to lend their experience, perspective and expert opinion on what is happening. Louis DeSipio examines how democratic nations incorporate new members, including policymaking in the areas of immigration. Topics of Expertise: Foreign Affairs / NATO Immigration and Deportation Department of Education, EPA, Homeland Security, Department of Interior, NOAA, HHS and FDA Jeffrey Wasserstrom specializes in modern Chinese cultural history & world history, who has written on many contemporary as well as historical issues. Topics of Expertise: Foreign Affairs / NATO Free Speech Department of Education, EPA, Homeland Security, Department of Interior, NOAA, HHS and FDA Eric Swanson is an expert on inflation, recessions and what changes in interest rates mean for the economy. Topics of Expertise: Foreign Affairs / NATO Tariffs Impact of Downsized Government Senior's Health and Social Security Heidi Hardt is an expert on NATO, defense, security, foreign policy, organizations, the EU, UN, operations, gender, climate and change. Topics of Expertise: Foreign Affairs / NATO Climate Change Gender and LGBTQ+ Rights Tony Smith’s knowledge of politics includes Constitutional Law, the U.S. Supreme Court and election law. Topics of Expertise: Free Speech Department of Education, EPA, Homeland Security, Department of Interior, NOAA, HHS and FDA Jon Gould is a distinguished scholar in justice policy, social change and government reform. Topics of Expertise: Deregulation Gender and LGBTQ+ Rights All of these experts are available to speak with media simply click on a profile now to arrange an interview time today.

Heidi HardtLouis DeSipioJeffrey WasserstromEric SwansonJon GouldTony Smith

2 min

NATO, Russia and a New Approach to Foreign Policy

The election of Donald Trump for a second time as the President of the United States may have come as a surprise to many, for world leaders it means an immediate shift when it comes to global issues. Trump campaigned on dealing with the war between Russia and Ukraine and the wars Israel is fighting on multiple fronts himself, and resolving these delicate and complex conflicts with little regard to those at NATO or other leaders around the world. Trump has also indicated that serious changes will be coming to how America handles trade -which will also put how his administration deals with President Xi Jinping  in China and the newly elected President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum in the spotlight on center stage. There is already a lot of speculation an even a few glimpses at what lies ahead for US foreign policy, and if you're a reporter covering the lead up to this much hyped event then let our experts help with your coverage. Louis DeSipio examines how democratic nations incorporate new members, including policymaking in the areas of immigration. Jeffrey Wasserstrom specializes in modern Chinese cultural history & world history, who has written on many contemporary as well as historical issues. Eric Swanson is an expert on inflation, recessions and what changes in interest rates mean for the economy. Heidi Hardt is an expert on NATO, defense, security, foreign policy, organizations, the EU, UN, operations, gender, climate and change. Tony, Jeffrey, Eric and Heidi are available to speak with media simply click on either expert's icon now to arrange an interview today.

Heidi HardtLouis DeSipioJeffrey WasserstromEric Swanson

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Biography

Prof. Heidi Hardt is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council via their Transatlantic Security Initiative. Her research focuses on NATO, European security, alliance politics, international organizations, knowledge, learning, change, gender and climate security. Prof. Hardt is the author of two books: NATO’s Lessons in Crisis: Institutional Memory in International Organization (Oxford 2018) and ​​Time to React: The Efficiency of International Organizations in Crisis Response (Oxford University Press, 2014). She has published articles in PLOS One, Journal of Politics, PS: Political Science & Politics, European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Organizations, International Politics, European Security, Global Governance, African Security, Journal of Global Security Studies, Contemporary Security Policy, as well as publishing research in edited volumes and other venues. NSF, Fulbright, NATO, Carnegie and the IGCC have funded her research. She was a Fulbright Schuman Scholar and a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, during which time she worked for a Congresswoman, Senator and the State Department.

Areas of Expertise

Defense
Organizational Change
Military Operations
US Foreign Policy‎‎
International Organizations
Gender Issues
European Union
Climate Security
United Nations
NATO

Accomplishments

Lawrence S. Finkelstein Award, ISA International Organization Section

2011

Education

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Ph.D.

International Studies

2012

London School of Economics

M.S.

European Studies (Research)

2006

University of Southern California

B.A.

International Relations and Print Journalism

2005

Affiliations

  • American Political Science Association (APSA)
  • International Studies Association (ISA)
  • Women in Conflict Studies (WICS)
  • Women of Color, Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS)
  • World Affairs Council of Orange County, Irvine, California
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Languages

  • French

Media Appearances

Nato celebrating 75th anniversary

BBC  tv

2024-04-04

Live interview discussing NATO, Russia and Ukraine and the NATO Summit

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How NATO Is Adapting to Climate Change

IGCC  online

2023-09-28

A new research project, led by UC Irvine associate professor of political science, Heidi Hardt, is exploring why—and how—member states are adapting NATO to climate change in certain areas but not in others. She and her co-author Jackie Burns argue that climate change is damaging NATO’s ability to collectively defend its 31 member states. In this interview, Dr. Hardt talks with IGCC associate director Lindsay Shingler to discuss their research evaluating NATO’s progress following the organization’s pledge to become a leader in understanding and adapting to the impact of climate change on security.

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Sweden joining NATO a ‘very substantial step forward’: Analyst

CNA  tv

2023-07-11

Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a long time coming, Dr Heidi Hardt, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine, tells CNA’s Asia First. Sweden and Türkiye ironed out their differences in last-minute talks in Vilnius, Lithuania, where NATO on Tuesday kicked off its two-day summit focused on supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion.

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Event Appearances

“The New Domains of Conflict”

October 2024 | NATO: 75 Years of Strategic Solidarity  Paris, France

Paper on NATO’s adaptation to climate threats

April 2024 | MIRTH (Monday International Relations Thoughts) Speaker Series  Berkeley, CA

"Looking Back, Looking Ahead” panel

April 2024 |NATO at 75: Charting a New Course  Washington, D.C.

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Research Grants

Two-year grant to study climate adaptation at NATO

UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

Jan 2023-Dec 2024

One-year fellowship to work for a U.S. government agency or international organization

Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars (CFR IAF – TIRS)

Sept 2021-Aug 2022

SBP: Diversity by the Book: Gender Representation in Political Science Graduate Training

National Science Foundation (NSF) Award – Political Science

Jul 2017-Aug 2018

Articles

NATO after the invasion of Ukraine: how the shock changed alliance cohesion

International Politics

2024

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, experts predicted a NATO revival. The record on alliance cohesion, however, is mixed. Allies achieved consensus on some issues but not others. While some Alliance politics scholars and NATO experts assert that cohesion improved, new scholarship is needed to explain the nature of and changes in cohesion across NATO’s many issue areas. Leveraging organizational change scholarship, I argue that the extent to which an exogenous shock—here, the invasion of Ukraine—aligns with NATO’s mission can explain differences in cohesion on issue areas across three realms. To test the argument, I employ discourse analysis of high-level NATO documents, leader statements, relevant quotes from allied and NATO officials and public opinion polls (2010–2024).

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Local engagement and US military attitudes toward gender integration: Evidence from Afghanistan

Contemporary Security Policy

2024

As debates on gender integration growin the military and Women, Peace, and Security scholarship, security studies scholars and policy experts are scrutinizing the link between gender and operational effectiveness. This article argues that deployed experiences create opportunities for soldiers to observe women’s engagement with host communities, particularly local women - contributing to soldiers' improved attitudes toward gender integration. Employing interviews and an online survey with a total of 43 US active duty and veterans who served in ISAF in Afghanistan, we find that most who hadserved in mixed-gender units commended female soldiers’ interactions with local populations and linked these observations with improved assessments of the operating environment. By contrast, those in male-only units report more negative views.

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Assessing racial/ethnic and gender gaps in political science phd students’ methodological self-efficacy

PS: Political Science & Politics

2022

Most research on diversity within political methodology focuses on gender while overlooking racial and ethnic gaps. Our study investigates how race/ethnicity and gender relate to political science PhD students’ methodological self-efficacy, as well as their general academic self-efficacy. By analyzing a survey of 300 students from the top 50 US-based political science PhD programs, we find that race and ethnicity correlate with quantitative self-efficacy: students identifying as Black/African American and as Middle Eastern/North African express lower confidence in their abilities than white students. These gaps persist after accounting for heterogeneity among PhD programs, professional and socioeconomic status, and preferred methodological approach. However, small bivariate gender gaps disappear in multivariate analysis.

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