Cynthia Cook

Cynthia Cook is director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her research interests include defense acquisition policy and organization, the defense-industrial base, new technology development, and weapon systems production and sustainment. Dr. Cook is a member of the editorial board for the Defense Acquisition Research Journal and is an adjunct professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. From 1997 to 2021, Dr. Cook worked as a senior management scientist at RAND, where she oversaw, led, and worked on a wide range of studies for components across the U.S. Department of Defense, along with the Australian Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, Dr. Cook was a research specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on the Lean Aerospace Initiative. Before her graduate studies, Dr. Cook worked in New York as an investment banker, specializing in high-yield finance. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University and a BS in management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
In the News
Friends Over Factories
Cynthia Cook in Foreign Affairs — March 27, 2023
Industrial Base Woes Give DOD Problems for Contractors to Solve
Cynthia Cook in Bloomberg Government — March 24, 2023
EXPERTS REFLECT ON THE FIRST YEAR OF THE UKRAINE WAR
Cynthia Cook in Inkstick — March 22, 2023
Finland Brings Cyber Capabilities to NATO
Cynthia Cook in The Cyber Edge — March 1, 2023
4 unanswered questions about the future of the Ukraine war
Cynthia Cook in Vox — February 24, 2023
Russia’s War on Ukraine, China’s Rise Expose US Military Failings
Cynthia Cook in Bloomberg — February 20, 2023
The Real Impact of Western-Supplied Arms to Ukraine
Cynthia Cook in The Cipher Brief — February 1, 2023
How arming Ukraine is stretching the US defence industry
Mark F. Cancian and Cynthia Cook in Financial Times — January 31, 2023
All content by Cynthia Cook
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Pausing Proliferation: Facing China's Military Engine Development
Event by Cynthia Cook , Jeremiah Gertler , and Brig. Gen. David R. Stilwell (USAF, ret.) — April 18, 2023
Global Security Forum 2023: Transatlantic Defense
Event by John J. Hamre , Seth G. Jones , Emily Harding , Cynthia Cook , and Max Bergmann — April 5, 2023
Powering Proliferation: The Global Engine Market and China’s Indigenization
Brief by Alexander Holderness , Nicholas Velazquez , Jasmine Phillips , Gregory Sanders , and Cynthia Cook — March 21, 2023
DoD's Office of Strategic Capital: Attracting and Scaling Private Capital in Support of National Security
Event by Cynthia Cook and Dr. Jason Rathje — March 17, 2023
DAPA-CSIS Conference 2023: ROK-U.S. Defense Industrial Cooperation for a Resilient Global Supply Chain
Event by Cynthia Cook , Victor Cha , Minister Eom, Dong-hwan , and Michael J. Vaccaro — March 16, 2023
Reviving the Arsenal of Democracy: Steps for Surging Defense Industrial Capacity
Report by Cynthia Cook — March 14, 2023
2023 CHEY-CSIS Conference: Cooperation on Scientific Innovation, Supply Chains, and Geopolitical Risk in Northeast Asia
Event by Ambassador PARK, In-kook , Seth G. Jones , Minister AHN, Dukgeun , The Honorable Alan F. Estevez , Cynthia Cook , and Gregory Sanders — March 9, 2023
Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition: A Conversation with Hon. Douglas R. Bush
Event by Cynthia Cook and The Honorable Douglas Bush — March 3, 2023
Constricting the Means of Production: Ally-Centric Cooperative Economic Deterrence
Commentary by Alexander Holderness and Cynthia Cook — February 14, 2023
Bolstering Collective Resilience in Europe
Brief by Anna Dowd and Cynthia Cook — December 9, 2022