Biography

Joe Felter is a William J. Perry Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and research fellow at the Hoover Institution.  From 2017 to 2019, Felter served as US deputy assistant secretary of defense for South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. There he was the principal advisor for all policy matters pertaining to development and implementation of defense strategies and plans in the region and responsible for managing bilateral security relationships and guiding Department of Defense (DoD) engagement with multilateral institutions.  

At Stanford, Felter is codirector of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project and coauthor of Hacking for Defense, a defense innovation­–focused academic curriculum sponsored by the DoD and taught at more than 20 universities across the country. His previous academic positions include director of West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, assistant professor in the US Military Academy’s Department of Social Sciences, and adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs. His research focuses on addressing politically motivated violence and has appeared in the American Economic ReviewJournal of Political EconomyJournal of Development EconomicsJournal of Conflict Resolution, and a range of other academic and policy-focused publications.  He is coauthor of Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution and Modern Conflict (Princeton University Press, 2018). 

A former US Army Special Forces and Foreign Area officer, Joe served in a variety of special operations and diplomatic assignments across East and Southeast Asia. His combat deployments include Panama with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Iraq with a Joint Special Operations Task Force, and Afghanistan, where he commanded the COMISAF Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team, reporting directly to Generals Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus.

He received a BS from the US Military Academy at West Point, a masters in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a graduate certificate in management from the University of West Australia, and a PhD in political science from Stanford University.

publications

Journal Articles
January 2016

Conditional Cash Transfers, Civil Conflict, and Insurgent Influence

Author(s)
cover link Conditional Cash Transfers, Civil Conflict, and Insurgent Influence
Journal Articles
February 2015

The Super Smart Way to Dismantle ISIS

Author(s)
cover link The Super Smart Way to Dismantle ISIS
Testimonies
July 2012

Statement by Col. Joseph Felter (Ret.) before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee

Author(s)
cover link Statement by Col. Joseph Felter (Ret.) before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee

In The News

Students on team one present their project to the class
News

Stanford Students Pitch Solutions to U.S. National Security Challenges to Government Officials and Technology Experts

In the class “Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition,” students across disciplines work in teams and propose their detailed solutions to active stakeholders in the technology and national security sectors.
cover link Stanford Students Pitch Solutions to U.S. National Security Challenges to Government Officials and Technology Experts
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and her team meet at the Hoover Institution with students and faculty from the Gordian Knot Center.
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Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks Discusses Importance of Strategic Partnerships with Stanford Faculty and Students

A visit from the Department of Defense’s deputy secretary gave the Gordian Knot Center a prime opportunity to showcase how its faculty and students are working to build an innovative workforce that can help solve the nation’s most pressing national security challenges.
cover link Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks Discusses Importance of Strategic Partnerships with Stanford Faculty and Students
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Felter: Insurgents attack aid programs to undermine governments

cover link Felter: Insurgents attack aid programs to undermine governments