Eliot A. Cohen

Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy
Eliot A. Cohen

Eliot A. Cohen is the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Robert E. Osgood Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he has taught since 1990. He received his BA and PhD degrees from Harvard and taught there and at the U.S. Naval War College before going to SAIS, where he has also served as the school’s ninth dean. His books include, most recently, The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force (Basic Books, 2017), as well as Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battle Along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War (FreePress, 2011) and Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime (Anchor, 2002), among others. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve, was a director in the Defense Department’s policy planning staff, led the U.S. Air Force’s multivolume study of the first Gulf War, and has served in various official advisory positions. From 2007 to 2009 he was counselor of the Department of State, serving as Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s senior adviser, focusing chiefly on issues of war and peace, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and his commentary has also appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and on major television networks.

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The Truth of the Matter

War in Gaza and The Hollow Crown

CSIS’s Eliot Cohen joins the podcast for a discussion of the ground war in Gaza and his new book “The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule and Fall.”

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Eliot A. Cohen — November 2, 2023

CSIS the truth of the matter
The Truth of the Matter

Putin and the Prigozhin Putsch

Eliot Cohen, upon his return from Kyiv, offers an analysis of the Prigozhin putsch and how the US should evaluate Putin’s hold on Russia.  

Podcast Episode by Eliot A. Cohen and H. Andrew Schwartz — June 30, 2023

CSIS the truth of the matter

Lessons in U.S. Intelligence and Special Operations

Hon. Michael Vickers will sit down with Dr. Seth Jones, Dr. Eliot Cohen, and Emily Harding, to discuss his upcoming book, By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy, which is in out in June 2023.

Event — June 16, 2023

The Truth of the Matter

Eliot Cohen on Russia-Ukraine and Iran-Israel

CSIS’s Dr. Eliot Cohen joins the podcast to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and how Israel and the United States have increasing concerns about Iran’s military and nuclear weapons program.

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Eliot A. Cohen — February 6, 2023

CSIS the truth of the matter
The Truth of the Matter

Visions of Kiev

CSIS’s Dr. Eliot Cohen joins the podcast to discuss his recent visit to Kiev and meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky, his assessment of Polish efforts to help Ukraine, and his analysis of Vladimir Putin’s next moves.  

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Eliot A. Cohen — September 30, 2022

CSIS the truth of the matter