Dr. Stacy Closson is a Visiting Distinguished Lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. She received her PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science in International Relations. She came to UKY from the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. where she was a fellow researching Russian energy politics. Dr. Closson was also a Transatlantic Post-Doctoral Fellow in think tanks in Switzerland and Germany. From 1996-2002 she worked in the US Department of Defense as a political-military analyst, entering as a Presidential Management Fellow, and focusing on the former Soviet states. Dr. Closson has published in several academic and professional journals on energy security, state weakness, and unrecognized states. Her forthcoming book is entitled Energy Empire: Russia, Europe, and the Politics of Energy Interdependence. Dr. Closson was most recently named an “Emerging Leader in Environmental and Energy Policy” by the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.