Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy
Advancing understanding in geostrategy, international security, and global politics
Dr. Jon B. Alterman was named to the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy in 2012. CSIS established the chair in 2003 to advance understanding in the fields of geostrategy, international security, and global politics. Zbigniew Brzezinski was the nation’s 11th national security adviser, and after leaving that post he spent more than three decades at CSIS. Reflecting Brzezinski’s personal achievements during a long career that included public service, teaching, and writing, CSIS awards the chair to a leading scholar-practitioner in global affairs and international strategy.
Much of Dr. Alterman’s scholarship is grounded in decades of study of the Middle East, yet in recent years he has advanced cross-regional research linking his Middle East expertise to emerging global issues. Currently, Dr. Alterman’s work for the Brzezinski Chair focuses on three main themes:
Dr. Alterman’s early work on China, the United States, and the Middle East in the mid-2000s anticipated the growing Middle Eastern energy trade with Asia and the increasing importance of the Middle East to Chinese economic political, and military strategy. As the U.S. strategic posture balances away from a Middle East focus, Russia plays a greater role in regional conflicts, and the Global South emerges as a key player in international affairs, the Brzezinski Chair is working to understand how regional states are responding to Great Power efforts to shape the global commons and to anticipate future challenges to global order. You can read some of Alterman’s work on China-Middle East ties here, and the Brzezinski Chair’s latest report on global order here.
In recent years, states have increasingly turned to the capture or wrongful detention of Western citizens as an asymmetrical tool of coercion against the United States and its allies. The resultant “hostage diplomacy” is a critical bipartisan issue. Dr. Alterman helped launch the CSIS Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention to study the efficacy of policy responses to hostage taking, develop new tools to empower U.S. officials and the families of hostages, and deter future hostage taking. Find out more about the Commission here.
The number of independent states has expanded exponentially since World War I. But many independence movements have also failed, with broader implications for regional stability and international cooperation. The Brzezinski Chair has conducted research on the factors contributing to the success or failure of struggles for self-determination across the world. Read the latest book from the Brzezinski Chair on independence movements here.
Latest Work
Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva Are Back in the United States
Commentary by Danielle Gilbert — August 6, 2024
Coming Home after Being a Hostage Abroad
Commentary by Jason Rezaian — August 2, 2024
“Newcomers Bring New Rules: Shared Leadership in a More Multipolar World”: Audio Brief with Jon B. Alterman
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman — April 22, 2024
Newcomers Bring New Rules
Report by Jon B. Alterman and Lily McElwee — April 22, 2024
Pursuing Global Order in the Twenty-First Century
Digital Report by Jon B. Alterman and Lily McElwee — April 22, 2024
All Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy Content
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Enemies—and Partners—Will Get a Vote in the Middle East
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — January 11, 2021
GCC Rift over Qatar Comes to an End
Critical Questions by Jon B. Alterman — January 5, 2021
Enemies—and Partners—Will Get a Vote in the Middle East
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — December 17, 2020
Women and Statecraft History: A Compilation of Personal Essays by Women Historians
Report by Seth Center, Fiona Hill, Sara Bush Castro, Elizabeth C. Charles, Susan Colbourn, Sarah-Jane Corke, Michelle Grisé, Marybeth Peterson Ulrich, Stephanie Young, and Emma Bates — December 1, 2020
Designating the Houthis as Terrorists Would Be a Mistake
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — November 30, 2020
Pivoting to Asia Doesn’t Get You Out of the Middle East
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — October 19, 2020
Actions in Anticipation of Iranian Elections
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — October 5, 2020
Stumbling Out of the Middle East Is No Better Than Stumbling In
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — September 16, 2020
The Significance of the Israel-UAE Deal
Critical Questions by Jon B. Alterman — September 15, 2020
Why the U.S. and Its Allies Should Keep Lebanon from Blowing Apart
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — August 6, 2020