Ali Isse

Ali Isse is a Ph.D. candidate in Security Studies at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, advised by Professor Christopher Chyba. His dissertation examines U.S. and allied strategic choices in nuclear proliferation crises, with case studies on Iran, North Korea, Iraq, and Libya. Combining archival research with statistical analysis, his work investigates the conditions under which states pursue coercion, preventive action, or strategic restraint in response to emerging nuclear threats. In the summer of 2025, he conducted archival research at The National Archives in Kew, the London School of Economics library, and the Churchill Archives Center at the University of Cambridge. 

During the 2025-2026 academic year, he was an IvyPlus Exchange Scholar at Yale University's Department of Political Science and a fellow with the Nuclear Security Program (NSP) at the MacMillan Center. He has presented his research at Yale's MacMillan Center, Uppsala University's Alva Myrdal Center for Nuclear Disarmament, Center for International Security Studies, Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, and the University of Chicago.

Before joining Princeton, Ali earned an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago, an M.S. in City & Regional Planning from The Ohio State University, with a minor in Public Policy and Management, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Texas San Antonio. He has also pursued additional study at the University of Cambridge and National Taipei University.

Outside of academia, he enjoys traveling, soccer, chess, and cycling. More about his research and work is available on his Princeton website: https://aaisse.scholar.princeton.edu/.