Charles Gholz
Political Science
Associate Professor of Political Science
Intersection of national security and economic policy; innovation, defense management, energy security and U.S. grand strategy.
Gholz in the News
Foreign Affairs
OPINION | The War China Might Choose
August 04, 2026
By Eugene Gholz, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, and Kerby Davis, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
South China Morning Post
Pain or gain? US moves to decouple its defence industry from China’s rare earths
August 03, 2026
The latest directive tells defence contractors that the era of relatively easily available waivers and the Trump administration’s repeated retreats from enforcing policies in this area is over, according to Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
Today I Learned Science Podcast
I Traced the Hormuz Crisis Back 4,000 Years. Here's What I Found.
Video
July 01, 2026
"The cost of insurance is basically proportional to the hazard, to how how big the impact of the bad luck outcome would be, plus a normal rate of profit in the insurance industry, which is affected by the competitive dynamics of the insurance industry," said Eugene Gholz, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. "If the probability approaches one hundred percent that your ship is going to sink, then the cost of insurance approaches the cost of a new ship. And that would be prohibitive." (Interview begins at 36:00)
Time
'Cowardly': Democrats Criticize House Republicans for Abruptly Canceling War Powers Vote
May 25, 2026
“Republicans used to be able to vote to table these proposals, but they don't have the unanimity that they need to do that anymore,” says Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
The Christian Science Monitor
The Strait of Hormuz is still blocked. What’s the US military doing about it?
May 06, 2026
“The U.S. is trying to get back to the situation that existed before we launched this escapade,” says Eugene Gholz, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. “We’re not trying to gain. We’re trying to undo a loss.”
The New York Times
Iran could struggle to enforce all of its latest shipping threats, experts say.
April 16, 2026
“Iran has limited capability to execute its threats in the Persian Gulf, and really limited capability in the Red Sea,” said Eugene Gholz, a professor at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on military threats in the Strait of Hormuz. He said the threat meant “some, but not much.”
The New York Times
Shipping Companies Remain Reluctant to Sail Through Strait of Hormuz
April 15, 2026
“It hardly constitutes a promise to protect non-Iranian shipping, which is likely the problem that the commercial companies and ship masters want solved,” said Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and expert on the Strait of Hormuz.
Time
What to Know About the Bab El-Mandeb Strait as Iran Threatens to Restrict Other Key Trade Passage
April 10, 2026
Iran’s direct ability to act in the region is limited, notes Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
ABC57
Local experts weigh in on Iran war, safety and potential attacks on Iranian infrastructure
Video
April 07, 2026
ABC57’s Jordan Tolbert spoke with two Professors from the University of Notre Dame about the Iran war. Professor Asher Kaufman, PhD, is the Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Kaufman is an expert in the modern Middle East. Eugene Gholz, PhD, is an associate professor of Political Science and an expert on National Security.
The New York Times
Why It’s So Hard to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz
March 24, 2026
“The destroyer’s defensive systems are really designed for something different than the close-in knife fight of the strait,” said Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. “Every part of the destroyer is sensitive to being attacked.”
ABC News
Why oil tankers remain hesitant to travel the Strait of Hormuz, according to experts
March 18, 2026
Eugene Gholz, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame who studies national security and economic policy, described the halt of tanker traffic as a "pause" meant to offer shipping firms an opportunity to assess the risk of navigating the strait.
The New York Times
Iran’s Chokehold on Persian Gulf Waterway Strains Shipping
March 06, 2026
“We’re five days into it, and that’s approaching the longest pauses that happened,” said Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and an expert on the Strait of Hormuz.
The New York Times
Oil Shipments in Persian Gulf Already Disrupted by Iran Attack
March 06, 2026
Some analysts said they did not expect the conflict to lead to a lengthy pause in shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. No country has closed the strait since large scale oil production began in the Middle East, said Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and expert on the Strait of Hormuz.
Marketplace
Shipping companies reroute, add fees amid Middle East conflict
Audio
March 03, 2026
Global shipping likes to pass cargo through the most direct route to minimize costs and time, said Eugene Gholz, a political science professor at University of Notre Dame.
Newsweek
Will US Troops Now Fight for Qatar After Trump Security Guarantee?
October 06, 2025
"Giving a security guarantee to Qatar, or to anyone else, increases the risk of the United States being pulled into a future conflict, because it expands the list of things that the United States promises to fight for," Eugene Gholz, a former senior Pentagon adviser now serving as associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek.
The New York Times
The economics of the Strait of Hormuz
June 23, 2025
Global commerce could be roiled. Any individual company that ships through the strait would be impacted, though the energy industry is the key concern, Eugene Gholz, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, told DealBook.
The Wire China | Subscription Only
China’s Rare Earths Riposte
April 09, 2025
Others say the U.S. is unlikely to face major shortages of the rare earths in question. Eugene Gholz, a professor at the University of Notre Dame who previously advised the Pentagon on manufacturing policy, says there should be ample supply of the seven minerals on global markets because significant trade in rare earths happens outside Chinese government control. “Much of it is illicit and smuggled,” he says.
South China Morning Post
The US wants to decouple its military supplies from China – but can it?
June 18, 2024
Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said the US still had significant advantages, saying the relationship is “not equally dependent” as the US economy is more flexible and innovative, and it has access to more alternative suppliers than China.
Cato Institute
The US Military Role in the Red Sea – Now Turning Offensive – Is a Bad Deal
January 15, 2024
Eugene Gholz is an adjunct scholar for the Cato Institute’s Defense and Foreign Policy Department and associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
Background Briefing with Ian Masters | Radio & Podcast
The Emerging Digital Military Industrial Complex as Silicon Valley Meets the Pentagon
Audio
August 28, 2023
Then we look further into the Digital Military Industrial Complex as Silicon Valley meets the Pentagon and Tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen make billions out of new tech startups with contracts to manufacture and deploy thousands of robotic weapons operating on AI. Joining us is Eugene Gholz, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
The Japan Times
China’s gallium curbs to have limited impact on U.S. defense
August 17, 2023
According to Eugene Gholz, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, other countries have also been producing the material, including South Korea, Canada and Ukraine, meaning that the know-how to produce gallium is not limited to China.
South China Morning Post
US expected to get around China’s export controls on gallium, an essential component for American military radar tech
July 17, 2023
Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in the US, said Beijing was in part aiming to disrupt the defence supply chain by countering the semiconductor export control, considering Washington’s “fear of vulnerability” as an opportunity to increase its leverage against the US.
Vox
Can the West keep supplying Ukraine with enough artillery?
June 06, 2023
“Nobody has as much as they want, whenever they want it,” said Eugene Gholz, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, and former Pentagon adviser for manufacturing and industrial base policy. “And yet, somehow, they manage to fight.”
Cato Institute Podcast
Market Adjustment and Foreign Policy Failure
Audio
May 16, 2023
Notre Dame associate professor Eugene Gholz discusses U.S. strategy, the low costs of neutrality in war, global oil markets and why the U.S. does too much militarily in the Middle East. He also advises a “defensive defense” strategy in East Asia, the ineffectiveness and overuse of economic sanctions, and decoupling from China.
The Christian Science Monitor
Peace through strength? US rattles China with new defenses near Taiwan.
February 09, 2023
While it’s not hard to see why the new announcement on bases seems hostile to Beijing, “we’re not talking about putting intermediate-range ballistic missiles there, which would look like an ability to attack targets in China,” says Eugene Gholz, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
KMUW
Kansas City’s role in making doomsday weapons is a boon for the local economy
February 01, 2023
“There’s a lot of sophisticated electronics, you know, timers, fuses, conventional explosives that help the nuclear explosives go off,” says Eugene Gholz, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame.
NPR
Javelin missiles are in short supply and restocking them won't be easy
Audio
May 27, 2022
Notre Dame professor Eugene Gholz says it's one of almost two dozen Army-run plants across the country that make and refurbish military hardware.
The Economist
How would an energy embargo affect Germany’s economy?
April 30, 2022
Japanese firms were able to quickly substitute away from previously cheap rare earths and find alternative supplies, according to research by Eugene Gholz of the University of Notre Dame and Llewelyn Hughes of the Australian National University.... In a study of the potential effects of a Russian energy embargo on Europe, Rüdiger Bachmann of the University of Notre Dame and his co-authors find that while the hit could be large, it would be partly offset by the economy’s ability to adapt.
The Wall Street Journal
White House Weighs New Action Against Beijing
November 23, 2020
“This would be a Cold War-like division of the world,” said Eugene Gholz, a University of Notre Dame national security expert. “We expect (China) to behave badly, so we’ll prepare a defense.”