Charles is currently writing his dissertation on the relationship between states with strict banking secrecy laws and the transnational violent non-state actors such as organized crime syndicates and terrorists who use banks in these states to evade the law enforcement agencies hunting them, as well as the impact these actors have had on state stability since the end of the Cold War. 

He is also currently in his eleventh year teaching at the college level, having spent six years teaching at the University of Cincinnati before starting at the University of Kentucky in 2012. During this time, he has taught courses in the politics of terrorism, American politics, political theory, national security policy, conflict management, international relations, politics and film, and introduction to international conflict (these last two were online courses). In the past year, Charles has also taught both introduction to composition and introduction to research methods, the latter as a Visiting Instructor of Politics at Centre College in Danville, KY.

His major area of study is International Relations and his minor is Comparative Politics.

Charles has co-authored an article with Stacy Closson on the use of banking intermediary companies in Russian and Central Asian oil and gas transactions, and expects to have a review article co-authored with Mark Peffley on the relationship between terrorism and political tolerance forthcoming. 

Charles has a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke University and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Public Policy and International Relations from The University of Chicago.

He presented a poster at the annual Peace Science Society International meeting at Notre Dame and a paper at ISA-Northeast in Baltimore MD in the fall of 2016, and will be attending the ISA annual meeting next winter..