It’s easy to become pessimistic about U.S. elections when it seems like corrupt politicians are being elected by a voter base that seems largely uninformed and disinterested. However, research professor Walter Stone, an expert on U.S. elections, disagrees with this cynical view and argues that elections are working better than most people think.

It was while conducting research in his chosen areas of specialization—international relations, international law, conflict, and defense—that Kinne first became aware of the proliferation of bilateral defense treaties. Some relate to holding joint military exercises and training, others to counterterrorism operations. Taken together, they reflect a broad acknowledgment across the international community that the multilateral agreements of old may no longer be sufficient. “NATO was designed to combat the Soviet Union,” Kinne says.