Faculty Profiles


Michael McKoy Headshot

Michael McKoy, Ph.D.

Department Chair, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations

On Faculty since 2014
630.752.5979
MSC 219


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Michael McKoy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations and Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Wheaton College (IL). He is originally from East Orange, NJ,  and earned a B.A. in Political Science and History from Duke University in 2002, and earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University in 2008 and 2012, respectively.  His research focuses on the international politics of revolutions, and more recently on the international political thought of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He teaches courses on International Politics, Peace and Conflict, US Foreign Policy, and Middle East topics.

Michael is married to Angela Fortner McKoy, who earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University in 2011.  Together they have four children—Shaddai, Julietta, Seth, and Selah.

Princeton University
Ph. D., Politics, 2012

Princeton University
M. A., Politics, 2008

Duke University
B. A., Political Science and History, 2002

  • IR 175 International Politics
  • IR 302 Israel and Palestine
  • IR 348 Middle East Politics
  • IR 378 U.S. Foreign Policy
  • IR 496 International Relations Senior Seminar
  • PACS 201 Introduction to Peace and Conflict
  • PACS 494 Senior Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies: Peace, Reconciliation, and Justice
  • Middle East International Politics
  • Revolutionary Politics
  • Political Thought of Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Faculty Fellow, America and the World Consortium, 2021 (including a $5,000 research grant).
  • Rodney K. Sisco Diversity Students’ Choice Award, Wheaton College, 2021.
  • Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) Dissertation Writing Fellowship, 2011-2012
  • Henry and Lynde Bradley Foundation Fellowship, 2010-2012
  • Patrice Y. Johnson *80 Memorial Service Award from the Association of Black Princeton Alumni, 2012

Constructing a ‘Democratic’ Peace: Allied Peacebuilding Strategy in Germany and Japan, Democracy and Security, Michael McKoy, 2021. view more

Neoconservatism: A Death Prematurely Reported?, Rethinking Security in the Twenty-First Century
Michael McKoy, 2017. view more

Backing Out or Backing In? Consistency and Commitment in Audience Costs Theory, American Journal of Political Science, Michael McKoy, Jack Levy, Paul Poast, and Geoffrey Wallace, 2015. view more

The Patron’s Dilemma: The Dynamics of Foreign-Supported Democratization, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Michael McKoy and Michael K. Miller, 2012. view more