James Goldgeier

James Goldgeier Headshot

James Goldgeier, PhD

  • Research Affiliate, CDDRL
  • Research Affiliate, CISAC

Biography

James Goldgeier is a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and a Professor at the School of International Service at American University, where he served as Dean from 2011-17. He is also a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. In 2018-19, he held the Library of Congress Chair in U.S.-Russia Relations at the John W. Kluge Center and was a visiting senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to joining American University, he was a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, where from 2001-05 he directed the Elliott School’s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. He also taught at Cornell University, and has held a number of public policy appointments and fellowships, including Director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council Staff, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress, and Edward Teller National Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Dr. Goldgeier has authored or edited six books, most recently Evaluating NATO Enlargement: From Cold War Victory to the Russia-Ukraine War (2023), co-edited with Joshua Shifrinson. He is the recipient of the Edgar S. Furniss book award in national and international security and co-recipient of the Georgetown University Lepgold Book Prize in international relations. Dr. Goldgeier is a senior adviser to the Bridging the Gap initiative, which promotes scholarly contributions to public debate and decision making on global challenges and U.S. foreign policy, and is co-editor of the Oxford University Press Bridging the Gap Book Series.

Dr. Goldgeier is past president of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (2015-2017). He received his M.A. and PhD in Political Science from the University of California Berkeley and his A.B., magna cum laude in Government, from Harvard University.

In The News

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Q&As

Navigating Beyond Academia: Insights and Advice on the Transition to a Foreign Policy Career for PhDs

In their new book, 'Foreign Policy Careers for PhDs,' authors Jim Goldgeier and Tamara Cofman Wittes provide PhD scholars with a practical guide into the corridors of global influence and decision-making.
Navigating Beyond Academia: Insights and Advice on the Transition to a Foreign Policy Career for PhDs