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Dr. Joel H. Westra

Department Chair, Professor, Director, Pre-Law Program
Politics and Economics
Pre-Law

Biography

Prof. Westra joined the Calvin faculty in 2007 and has directed Calvin’s Pre-Law Program since 2008. His teaching and research interests intersect the fields of international relations, international law, and US foreign policy. 

In addition to his professional scholarship, Prof. Westra regularly offers commentary on international politics and foreign policy for local and national news outlets. 

Outside of academia, he enjoys traveling, cooking, and dining out with his family, working out, playing the piano, and renovating his Prairie Style home in East Grand Rapids with his wife, Julie.

Education

  • B.A., Political Science, University of Houston
  • M.A., Social Sciences, The University of Chicago
  • Ph.D. Political Science, The University of Chicago

Professional Experience

  • Professor of Politics (2024–present)
  • Associate Professor of Politics, »Æ´óÏɸßÊÖÂÛ̳ (2012–2024)
  • Assistant Professor of Politics, »Æ´óÏɸßÊÖÂÛ̳ (2007–2012)
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow, John G. Tower Center for Political Studies, Southern Methodist University (2005–2007)
  • Visiting Lecturer, Committee on International Relations, The University of Chicago (2004– 2005)

Academic Interests

Prof. Westra's teaching and research interests include international organizations and law, international security, international relations theory, and US foreign policy. His research focuses on multilateral and regional security institutions as instruments of international order, specifically on questions pertaining to institutional design and to mechanisms of legitimation and restraint on the use of armed force within the international system.

Awards

  • Exceptional Service Award (2024)
  • »Æ´óÏɸßÊÖÂÛ̳ Advising and Mentoring Award (2019)

Publications

The Role of Bargaining in the Ongoing Process of Institutional Design

International Law and Foreign Policy Decision-Making

Review of Stefano Recchia, "Reassuring the Reluctant Warriors: U.S. Civil-Military Relations and Multilateral Intervention."

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International Law and the Use of Armed Force First Edition

Cumulative Legitimation, Prudential Restraint, and the Maintenance of International Order: A Reexamination of the UN Charter System

Research and Scholarship

Power Politics in the Global Commons: Institutional Design and Function of the Law of the Sea Treaties

Institutional Architecture of the Postwar International Security Order: Global Security Governance in a Changing World

In seeking to explain variation in observed institutional design, Prof. Westra has involved undergraduate student research assistants in a multiyear research project collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data.Ìý

Summer 2012: James Randall (McGregor program)

Fall 2012: Alexander Tyan (Honors project/CSR)

Summer 2013: Greg Kim (McGregor program)

Summer 2014: Jisoo Kim (McGregor program)

Summer 2015: Ha Young Bahng (McGregor program)

Fall 2015: Abuoma Nwadike (Honors project); Seung Yong Lee (CSR)

Summer 2016: Isaac LaGrand (McGregor program)

Spring 2017: Edgar Aguilar (Alumni Grant)

Summer 2017: Matt Seafield (McGregor program)

Summer 2018: Kelly Looman (Honors project/McGregor program); Daniela Pereira (Honors project/McGregor program)

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Joel Westra

Contact Me

616-526-6727
365 Hiemenga Hall

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