Murray Bessette

Murray S. Y. Bessette is an assistant professor of government specializing in homeland security and political theory. At Claremont Graduate University, Dr. Bessette majored in American government and political philosophy. He extensively studied the presidency within the general context of the Constitution and executive-congressional relations, as well as within the particular context of national security policy. He completed his doctoral dissertation, “Nietzsche in a Nutshell: an Interpretation of Twilight of the Idols,” under the supervision of Mark Blitz. At Morehead, Dr. Bessette teaches the graduate homeland security seminar in Morehead’s liberal arts MPA program that examines the formation of national security policy from the perspective of the president through the use of diplomatic history, works of political thought, and scholarship analyzing the various styles of decision-making employed within the executive branch. His current research interests are directed toward modern political thought (from Machiavelli to Kojčve), the nature of authority, the questions surrounding modern science and technology, and the complexities of creating public policy for foreign and domestic security.