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ISS Faculty Spotlight | Dr. Annie Boustead

Jan. 5, 2026
Professional headshot of Dr. Annie Boustead in front of a grey background
  1. We’d love to get to know you: can you share a bit about your background and what inspired you to pursue teaching and research in the field of International Security Studies?
    Hello!  I’m a lawyer and a policy analyst, and my research focuses on understanding how laws actually function in practice - especially as it relates to surveillance, privacy, and cybersecurity.  I became interested in working in the field of International Security Studies because I am fascinated about the gap between how policies should work in theory and how they actually work in practice - and figuring out what we can do to make sure our policies operate how they are intended to!
     
  2. How does your current research connect to real-world policy or global security challenges?
    One of the things I’m studying right now is how law enforcement officers in the United States consider violations of federal law (as opposed to state law) when deciding to stop and frisk people.  It’s been really interesting to consider how local enforcement and national security priorities intersect.  This work is relevant to policy and security issues when federal policy relies on local enforcement (which happens more often than you’d think!).
     
  3. What is one emerging issue in international security that students should be paying closer attention to right now, and why?
    There are so many things going on right now, but I don’t think we can underestimate the effect of AI on cybersecurity and cyber defense.
     
  4. What do you enjoy most about working with ISS students?
    I really enjoy when ISS students bring their prior experience into the classroom!  It’s always really interesting to hear a new take on a question when a student applies their prior professional or life experiences to their work.