Benjamin Jensen

Senior Fellow, Future War, Gaming, and Strategy, and International Security Program
Benjamin Jensen

Benjamin Jensen is a senior fellow for future war, gaming, and strategy in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a professor of strategic studies at the Marine Corps University School of Advanced Warfighting. Dr. Jensen has spent the last decade researching the changing character of political violence, technology, and strategy. He has worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, NATO, the U.S. Army, and a range of government agencies and foundations to develop wargames and scenario-driven exercises exploring strategy, defense analysis, crisis response, military planning, and complex emergencies. Outside of traditional defense and security issues, he supported the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in developing a human security assessment framework and a red team manual for early-warning analysts and development practitioners. He is the author of four books including the forthcoming Information at War: Military Innovation, Battle Networks, and the Future of Artificial Intelligence (Georgetown University Press, 2022), Military Strategy in the 21st Century: People, Connectivity, and Competition (Cambria, 2018), Cyber Strategy: The Evolving Character of Power and Coercion (Oxford University Press, 2018), and Forging the Sword: Doctrinal Change in the U.S. Army (Stanford University Press 2016). Most recently, he served as the senior research director and lead author for the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Dr. Jensen is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received his MA and PhD from the American University School of International Service. He is also a reserve officer in the U.S. Army.
 

Programs & Projects

Areas of Expertise

Media Queries

In the News

All Benjamin Jensen Content

Filter by

1 - 10 of 32 results

Pulling Their Weight: The Data on NATO Responsibility Sharing

Looking at the broader national security spend of NATO allies shows a more complete picture of responsibility sharing. This debate has become toxic partly because many of the measures of what allies are doing remain shielded from public view.

Report by Kathleen McInnis, Daniel Fata, Benjamin Jensen, and Jose M. Macias III — February 22, 2024

It Is Time to Democratize Wargaming Using Generative AI

If more people, from academics and concerned citizens to military professionals and civil servants, gained access to generative AI tools and understood how to integrate them into analytical wargames, the result would be a more diverse set of ideas guiding foreign policy.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen, Yasir Atalan, and Dan Tadross — February 22, 2024

Anthony Cordesman’s Enduring Approach to Strategy Analysis

Anthony Cordesman spent decades speaking truth to power about the art and science of strategy. Here we remember three of his many lessons: the need to always questions assumptions, take time to conduct net assessments, and hunt for details in the budget.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen — February 14, 2024

Why Pausing LNG Exports Is Bad Foreign Policy

The recent decision by the Biden administration to pause licenses for LNG export facilities creates long-term national security risks amid geopolitical turmoil without substantially addressing the climate concerns.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan — February 12, 2024

How the Chinese Communist Party Uses Cyber Espionage to Undermine the American Economy

Competition with China need not turn to conflict, but it will almost certainly continue to see a network of operatives linked to the CCP wage a systematic cyber espionage campaign designed to gain an intelligence advantage and steal intellectual property. Put simply, China is trying to cheat its way to the top of key industries in the 21st century.

Congressional Testimony by Benjamin Jensen — October 19, 2023

The Waterfall’s Shadow in the Mekong Region

Infrastructure programs like China's Belt and Road Initiative further authoritarian influence in climate and water-stressed regions. The United States needs strategies that simultaneously advance water security and national security to compete with China. 

Brief by Benjamin Jensen, Daniel F. Runde, and Thomas Bryja — September 29, 2023