Marcus D. King

Marcus D. King is professor of the practice in environment and international affairs in the Science and Technology in International Affairs program at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. He holds a joint appointment at Earth Commons, Georgetown's institute for environment and sustainability. Prior to Georgetown, King was the John O. Rankin associate professor of international affairs and director of the master of arts in international affairs program at George Washington University’s Elliott School. King previously served as director of research and associate research professor at the Elliott School. King also has experience from a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations, including CNA Corporation’s Center for Naval Analyses, as research director of the Sustainable Energy Institute, and as senior manager for energy and security programs at a private consultancy. He has held presidential appointments in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he represented the United States in negotiations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Office of the Secretary of Energy. King is vice chairman of the Council on Strategic Risks and serves on the Center for Climate and Security’s advisory board. He maintains expertise in environmental security, climate change resilience, and transnational security. His present research focuses on environmental degradation and state fragility. His most recent book is Weaponizing Water: Water Stress and Islamist Extremist Violence in Africa and The Middle East (Lynne Rienner 2023). King holds a PhD in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.