Krister Knapp

Teaching Professor and Minor Adviser in History
Coordinator of Crisis & Conflict in Historical Perspective
PhD, Boston College
MA, University of Massachusetts
MA, University of Indiana
BA, Arizona State University
research interests:
  • U.S. National Security
  • Foreign Policy
  • Intelligence
  • Terrorism
  • Counterterrorism
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    office hours:

    • Wednesdays
    • 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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    mailing address:

    • MSC 1062-107-114
    • Washington University
    • One Brookings Drive
    • St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
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    Krister Knapp is a Teaching Professor in the Department of History.

    He coordinates the lecture series Crisis and Conflict in Historical Perspective, which hosts Washington DC think tank experts to speak about major political events with significant U.S. and international implications. He is also the History Minor advisor.

    Professor Knapp studies the history of and contemporary U.S. foreign policy and national security. He is a scholar of terrorism and counterterrorism, having published one book and several scholarly articles. Dr. Knapp consults as a policy and security analyst, giving public talks, writing op-eds, and interviewing with the media. He also teaches undergraduate courses.

    Knapp received his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University, a master’s in History & Philosophy of Science from Indiana University and a master’s in American Studies from the University of Massachusetts.  He received his doctorate from Boston College.

    CURRENT BOOK PROJECT

    Operation Copper Dune: U.S. Counterterrorism in Yemen during the Obama Administration

     

    SELECT OP-EDS

    “Return of the ‘War on Terror.’” The Source. Washington University in St. Louis. October 24, 2023

    “Putin, Russian Security and the Invasion of Ukraine.” The Source. Washington University in St. Louis, March 2, 2022

    “There is no End to Forever.” The Source. Washington University in St. Louis, August 18, 2021

     

    SELECT MEDIA INTERVIEWS 

    “Analyzing the One Year Anniversary of the Hamas Attack on Israel.” Total Information with Megan Lynch, KMOX AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Oct. 7, 2024 

    “Ukraine incursion into Russia.” Total Information with Megan Lynch, KMOX AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Aug. 19, 2024 

    “ISIS-K Attack on Russia.” The Chris and Amy Show, KMOX AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Mar. 26, 2024 

    “Egyptian-Israeli Tensions over Rafah.” Total Information with Megan Lynch, KMOX AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Feb. 13, 2024  

    “Iranian-backed Iraqi Militia Drone Strike on American Military in Jordan.” The Chris and Amy Show, KMOX AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Jan. 29, 2024 

    “Ukraine Funding from Congress.” The Chris and Amy Show, KMOX-AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Dec. 4, 2023 

    “Turkey and Israel.” The Chris and Amy Show, KMOX-AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Nov. 7, 2023 

    “Israel-Hamas Conflict.” The Chris and Amy Show, KMOX-AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Oct. 16, 2023 

    “What Could be Next in the Ukraine/Russia War.” The Chris and Amy Show, KMOX-AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, Aug. 28, 2023  

    “Russia’s War in Ukraine,” St. Louis Talks, KMOX-AM 1120 News Radio, CBS St. Louis, April 28, 2022 

    “Soleimani Killing and Iran Bombing,” KMOV, Channel 4 News, January 8, 2020 

    “Syria.” The Jaco Report, KTVI, Fox 2, Sept. 15. 2013 

    The Boston Bombings, KTVI, Fox 2, Apr. 16, 2013 

     

    SELECT PUBLIC TALKS 

    “Perpetual War in Ukraine: Assessing Possible Futures.” Freeman Address, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, Sept. 6, 2024 

    “Assessing Conflict and U.S. Security Policy in the Middle East.” St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Ladue, MO, February 28, 2024 

    “A Battle for Supremacy: Three Perspectives on US-China Relations.” The US-China Annual Town Hall on US-China Relations, Washington University in St. Louis, November 16, 2023 

    “Assessing the Likely Outcomes in Ukraine.” Ukraine—A Year of War, Saint Louis University, March 6, 2023  

    “Assessing Russia’s War in Ukraine.” The Weidenbaum Center, Washington University in St. Louis, March 28, 2022 

    “The Invasion of Ukraine: Lessons from History.” The Ethical Society, St. Louis, MO, Mar. 13, 2022 

    “The U.S. and Iran.” The Gatesworth, St. Louis, MO, Mar. 20, 2019 

    “The Arab Spring Seven Years On.” Ladue Chapel, Apr. 27, 2018 

     

    SELECT COURSES 

    U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 

    The Cold War 

    U.S.-Russia Relations since the Cold War 

    The U.S. War in Vietnam 

    The U.S. War in Afghanistan 

    The U.S. War in Iraq 

    The Global War on Terrorism 

    Great Power Competition with China and Russia 

     

    in the news:

    Prof. Knapp Interviewed on KMOX on Recent Drone Strikes in Jordan

    Prof. Knapp Interviewed on KMOX on Recent Drone Strikes in Jordan

    Knapp interviewed on KMOX Radio on Ukraine Funding from Congress

    Knapp interviewed on KMOX Radio on Ukraine Funding from Congress

    Knapp interviewed on KMOX Radio on Turkey cutting ties with Israel

    Knapp interviewed on KMOX Radio on Turkey cutting ties with Israel

    Knapp interviewed on KMOX Radio on how to teach about 9/11

    Knapp interviewed on KMOX Radio on how to teach about 9/11

    Read more news
    William James: Psychical Research and the Challenge of Modernity

    William James: Psychical Research and the Challenge of Modernity

    By Krister Knapp

    In this insightful new book on the remarkable William James, the American psychologist and philosopher, Krister Dylan Knapp provides the first deeply historical and acutely analytical account of James's psychical research. While showing that James always maintained a critical stance toward claims of paranormal phenomena like spiritualism, Knapp uses new sources to argue that psychical research held a strikingly central position in James’s life. It was crucial to his familial and professional relationships, the fashioning of his unique intellectual disposition, and the shaping of his core doctrines, especially the will-to-believe, empiricism, fideism, and theories of the subliminal consciousness and immortality.