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

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Free Evan, Prosecute the Hostage Takers

According to several experts, there’s an argument for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine if those involved in the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich violated U.S. law against hostage taking.

Commentary by Joel Simon — October 17, 2023

Why the Gaza Hostage Crisis Is Different

Hamas has kidnapped an estimated 150 people, starting a hostage crisis that has gripped the world. Although Hamas has long used hostage taking to coerce massive concessions, certain aspects of the crisis suggest that it might not be about prisoner swaps at all.

Commentary by Danielle Gilbert — October 17, 2023

Biden’s Hostage Diplomacy, Explained

The Biden administration finalized a deal to recover five U.S. citizens the U.S. government deemed wrongfully detained in Iran. This deal is the latest example of hostage diplomacy: when countries use their criminal justice systems to hold foreigners hostage.

Commentary by Danielle Gilbert — September 22, 2023

Water in a Multipolar World: China and the Issue of Water Management

Senior Fellow Natasha Hall and Professor Ashok Swain argue that as water becomes scarcer, China’s financing and construction of dams worldwide could have profound social, security, and environmental consequences.   

Commentary by Natasha Hall and Ashok Swain — August 14, 2023

Just Call Them Hostages

The U.S. government should start calling a spade a spade. When foreign nations illegally detain Americans simply to gain leverage over the United States, the government should call them what they are: “state hostages.”

Commentary by Danny Sharp and Jason Rezaian — July 20, 2023

Saudi Arabia Steps Out

The recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran represents a new era of Saudi diplomacy, shifting away from passive agreement with the United States and toward greater independent engagement in the region and beyond. 

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — March 22, 2023

Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: From Beijing to Jerusalem

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourism to Israel was growing the fastest out of any country. As Chinese tourists begin to return to the market, Israel may continue to be a popular destination.

Podcast Episode — February 28, 2023

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

Bilahari Kausikan: The Middle East in a Multipolar World

Jon speaks with Bilahari Kausikan about how states in the Middle East can navigate complexity in the U.S.-China competition.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — February 7, 2023

CSIS Babel