Matthew Kroenig is an American political scientist, best-selling author, and an award-winning national security strategist. Named one of the top 25 most-cited political scientists of his generation by a 2019 study in Perspectives on Politics, he is best known for his work in the Pentagon where he authored the first-ever U.S. government-wide strategy for deterring terrorism and developed strategic options for addressing Iran’s nuclear program. He is also widely recognized for his scholarly research on international security and nuclear weapons. His contributions to America’s national security were featured in two chapters of the best-seller book authored by The New York Times’ reporters Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker.
Kroenig began his career as a military analyst in the Strategic Assessment Group at the Central Intelligence Agency. In this role, he analyzed international reactions to Iran’s nuclear program. In 2005, he worked as a strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he was the principal author of the first ever U.S.-government-wide strategy for deterring terrorist networks. He was recognized by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Award for Outstanding Achievement for his work on elevating deterrence to a more central element of the U.S. counter-terrorism strategy. From 2010 to 2011, Kroenig returned to the Pentagon on a non-partisan Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship to serve as a special advisor on Iran policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In that role, he developed strategic options to address Iran’s nuclear program. Upon leaving, he gained widespread attention for his writing on the viability of the U.S. military option for degrading Iran’s nuclear facilities, including in The New York Times and Foreign Affairs. He continues to regularly consult with the defense, diplomatic and intelligence communities. From 2011 to 2012, Kroenig was the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He remains a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Kroenig served as a foreign policy advisor on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, a senior national security advisor to Scott Walker, and as a senior advisor on Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign. He is currently a professor of government and foreign service in Georgetown University. He also serves as the Atlantic Council's deputy director of the and director of its Global Strategy Initiative. He co-writes the bi-weekly column “It’s Debatable” for Foreign Policy.
Publications
Kroenig is an author, co-author, or co-editor of seven books. These include:
The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy Versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the U.S. and China
The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy
Nonproliferation Policy and Nuclear Posture: Causes and Consequences for the Spread of Nuclear Weapons
A Time to Attack: The Looming Iranian Nuclear Threat
The Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey
Causes and Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation
Exporting the Bomb: Technology Transfer and the Spread of Nuclear Weapons
His book “The Return of Great Power Rivalry” made Amazon’s best-sellers lists in a number of categories, including the #1 New Book in International Relations for two consecutive weeks just after publication date in late March 2020. Kroenig is also the author of dozens of articles on a wide range of international relations and foreign policy issues, including: Europe, Asia, the Middle East, nuclear deterrence and nonproliferation, terrorism, soft power, and democracy. His articles have appeared in top-tier mainstream media publications, such as The New York Times', The Wall Street Journal', The Washington Post; in foreign relations trade publications, such as Foreign Affairs', The Atlantic', Foreign Policy; as well as scholarly journals, such as American Political Science Review and International Organization. Kroenig also provides regular commentary on major media outlets, including The New York Times', CNN Politics'. PBS Newshour', CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS', CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer', FOX News’ Special Report with Bret Baier', BBC World Service', NPR’s All Things Considered and C-SPAN'.
