John Karaagac

Dr. John Karaagac is a political scientist and Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Indiana University Bloomington's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he serves as Director of the Certificate of Applied Research and Inquiry. With expertise in the American presidency, domestic and foreign policy, political biography, and international and comparative politics, Karaagac has been a faculty member at IU for more than a decade. He lectures on public policy and international relations, offering courses including Comparative Public Management and Administration, National and International Policy, National Security, and Traditions of Inquiry: International Relations Theory and Policy Choices. His research interests include international relations and international policy, American public administration, foreign policy, politics and the political process, the presidency, international political economy, and political theory and public policy. Karaagac earned his Ph.D. with Distinction in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in 1997, an M.A. in International Relations from Cambridge University in 1987, and a B.A. in History from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. He previously taught at the University of Richmond and Johns Hopkins University, and continues as a Professorial Lecturer in American Foreign Policy during summers at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies, where he also instructs on international relations theory and American foreign policy. As affiliated faculty with the Polish Studies Center, he examines Poland's involvement in international relations, politics, and policy.

Karaagac has authored several influential books on American policy and the presidency's role in foreign politics, including John McCain: An Essay in Military and Political History (Lexington Books, 2000), Between Promise and Policy: Ronald Reagan and Conservative Reformism (Lexington Books, 2000), The Bush Paradox: A Study in Contemporary Politics (Fenestra, 2004), The Fate of the Father: The Bush Policy Paradox (Fenestra, 2004), and co-authored Why America Isn’t Europe with IU Emeritus Professor Randall Baker (Paradigma, 2010). His peer-reviewed articles include “Republican foreign policy tendencies in the Truman years: Ideas, traditions and commentary” published in Dzieje Najnowsze (2007) and “Wilson in Warsaw” in American Dream (2011). Karaagac's commitment to teaching excellence has been honored with the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award (2016), O'Neill School Undergraduate Teaching Awards (2012 and 2013), and the inaugural O'Neill Most Creative Teaching Method Award from the Student Choice Awards (2015).

Professional Email: jkaraaga@iu.edu