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Gordon Adams Prof Emeritus School of International Service

Degrees
PhD, Columbia University; MA, Columbia University; BA, Stanford University

Languages Spoken
French, German, Spanish with declining sophistication in that order
Favorite Spot on Campus
Definitely the Davenport Lounge
Book Currently Reading
Just finished Rachel Maddow's DRIFT on the overuse of America's military
Bio
Dr. Gordon Adams, a professor of U.S. Foreign Policy, has published widely on defense and national security policy, the defense policy process, and national security budgets. He is extensively used by the nation’s media for comment on U.S. national security policy.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request. Explore all AU Faculty Experts in our media guide.

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

Media Appearances

  • Monthly column for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
  • Blogging: Huffington Post, National Journal, democracyarsenal

Executive Experience

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • Distinguished Fellow, Henry L. Stimson Center
  • Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
  • Fellow, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
  • International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Media Appearances

  • Monthly column for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
  • Blogging: Huffington Post, National Journal, democracyarsenal

Executive Experience

Formerly Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, the White House, 1993-97

Selected Publications

Congressional Testimony

Research Interests

Research and writing on the US foreign policy and national security toolkit, focusing on the balance between the foreign policy institutions (State, USAID) and the defense institutions (Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community).

Selected Publications

  • Buying National Security: How America Plans and Pays for Its Global Role and Safety At Home (with Cindy Williams). Routledge Press, 2009.  
  • A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future, with co-authors, Stimson Center, October 2008.  
  • Strengthening Statecraft and Security: Reforming U.S. Planning and Resource Allocation, (with Cindy Williams), Occasional Paper, Cambridge, MA: MIT Security Studies Program, June 2008.   
  • Transforming European Militaries: Coalition Operations and the Technology Gap (with Guy Ben-Ari), Routledge Press, 2006.   
  • The Role of Defense Budgets in Civil Military Relations, Defense Budget Project, 1992.   
  • The Iron Triangle: The Politics of Defense Contracting, Transaction Press, 1981.

Congressional Testimony

Congressional testimony on defense spending and national security issues.