Eliot A. Cohen is the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Robert E. Osgood Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he has taught since 1990. He received his BA and PhD degrees from Harvard and taught there and at the U.S. Naval War College before going to SAIS, where he has also served as the school’s ninth dean. His books include, most recently, The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force (Basic Books, 2017), as well as Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battle Along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War (FreePress, 2011) and Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime (Anchor, 2002), among others. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve, was a director in the Defense Department’s policy planning staff, led the U.S. Air Force’s multivolume study of the first Gulf War, and has served in various official advisory positions. From 2007 to 2009 he was counselor of the Department of State, serving as Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s senior adviser, focusing chiefly on issues of war and peace, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and his commentary has also appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and on major television networks.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
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In the News
The Houthis Are Very, Very Pleased
Eliot A. Cohen in The Atlantic — March 5, 2024
How Ukraine could become Putin's 'Vietnam,' say military analysts
Eliot A. Cohen, Max Bergmann, and Seth G. Jones in Business Insider — February 17, 2024
Zelensky Finds a General
Eliot A. Cohen in The Atlantic — February 8, 2024
Senate advances foreign aid bill as Zelenskyy replaces top general
Eliot A. Cohen in CBS — February 8, 2024
For Israel, the Existential Question Returns
Eliot A. Cohen in Wall Street Journal — December 13, 2023
Think Strategy, Not Tactics
Eliot A. Cohen in The Atlantic — November 1, 2023
War in the Middle East Challenges Biden’s Defense Strategy
Eliot A. Cohen in Wall Street Journal — October 17, 2023
Against Barbarism
Eliot A. Cohen in The Atlantic — October 12, 2023
All Eliot A. Cohen Content
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Ukraine: A Real War
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Eliot A. Cohen — March 1, 2024
Ukraine in the Balance: A Battlefield Update on the War in Ukraine
Event — February 22, 2024
Reflections on the Ukraine War
Event — February 20, 2024
Press Briefing: Assessing the War in Ukraine
Event — February 14, 2024
Eliot A. Cohen in The Atlantic: Zelensky Finds a General
Commentary by Eliot A. Cohen — February 9, 2024
2024 Global Forecast: Conflict Zones
Digital Report by Mark F. Cancian, Max Bergmann, and Maria Snegovaya, Romina Bandura, Kathleen McInnis, Elizabeth Hoffman, Eliot A. Cohen, Daniel Byman, Jon B. Alterman, Natasha Hall, Emily Harding, Craig Cohen, Alex Kisling — February 2, 2024
The Houthis and U.S. Options
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Eliot A. Cohen — January 18, 2024
On the Ground in Israel: Expert Perspectives
Event — January 17, 2024
Eliot A. Cohen in The Wall Street Journal: For Israel, the Existential Question Returns
Commentary by Eliot A. Cohen — December 13, 2023
War in Gaza and The Hollow Crown
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Eliot A. Cohen — November 2, 2023