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 two 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.

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Featured Work

Combating State Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention

June 4, 2025 • 1:00 – 2:00 pm EDT

The CSIS Hostage Commission launches its findings on the rise of hostage-taking and wrongful detention. Join executive directors Jon Alterman and Jason Rezaian, along with key stakeholders, to discuss key recommendations and the path forward.

Hosted by Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy
Photo: CSIS

Photo: CSIS
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The Enemy Gets A Vote

Secretary of Defense James Mattis is fond of pointing out, “The enemy gets a vote.” However masterful a maneuver the United States executes, the impact depends on how the adversary responds, and not just on what the United States has done.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — May 16, 2018

May 12 Deadline May Not Settle Iran Sanctions

Jon Alterman answers key questions about the impending May 12 deadline, including what happens if President Trump doesn’t renew the sanctions waiver.

Critical Questions by Jon B. Alterman — May 2, 2018

Yemen Matters

Yemen’s challenges are difficult, but they are not intractable. The GCC states seem to have internalized that they cannot bomb their way to victory in Yemen, and they recently pledged massive support to UN humanitarian operations.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — April 24, 2018

Syria, Turkey, and the Eastern Mediterranean

The United States needs to take a new strategic approach to the Eastern Mediterranean, outlined in a CSIS report forthcoming in May 2018. An urgent part of that strategy, outlined here, is recalibrating U.S. policy toward Syria and Turkey.

Brief by Jon B. Alterman and Heather A. Conley — April 19, 2018

The Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

Labeled the worst humanitarian crisis in today’s world, the conflict in Yemen is entering its fourth year. This event will discuss the impact the war is having on the Yemeni people, and the challenges it poses policymakers.

Event — April 5, 2018

The Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

Labeled the worst humanitarian crisis in today’s world, the conflict in Yemen is entering its fourth year. This event discussed the impact the war is having on the Yemeni people, and the challenges it poses policymakers.

Transcript — April 5, 2018

The Yemen Model: The Future of U.S. Middle East Policy

The changes underway in the U.S. approach to the Middle East will have repercussions. They will not just affect the region, but they will affect the United States and its global allies as well.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — February 21, 2018

Middle East Notes and Comment: The Yemen Model

Judging from Syria, the United States is still putting down stakes in the Middle East. At least two thousand U.S. troops have an open-ended commitment to secure areas liberated from Islamic State group (ISG) rule.

Newsletter by Jon B. Alterman — February 20, 2018

Geostrategic Flashpoint: The Eastern Mediterranean

Today, the United States and its allies are struggling to adapt a coherent Eastern Mediterranean regional policy that acknowledges dramatically new economic, political, and security realities while ensuring that the region remains transatlantically anchored.

Event — February 12, 2018