I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. I earned my Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago in 2025. My research focuses on the domestic politics of foreign policy and international security, with a particular focus on how leaders, bureaucracies, and political parties shape international politics. I have a regional emphasis on South Asia and the Global South.
My dissertation and book project examines when and why leaders politicize their foreign policy bureaucracies. It argues that leaders who distrust foreign policy bureaucracies because of ideological, partisan, or social conflicts preceding their tenure are more likely to politicize by appointing loyalists, sidelining careerists, and reshaping institutional rules.
My other research uses text-as-data methods to analyze the connections between political parties, public opinion, and foreign policy, particularly in India.
I was formerly a researcher at the Stimson Center’s South Asia program in Washington, DC. My commentary has been featured in Foreign Policy, The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog, and War on the Rocks. I hold a B.S. in International Studies from Indiana University and an M.A. in political science from the University of Chicago.
I can be reached at etallo@stanford.edu. You can also follow me on X or Bluesky.