Barry Ross Posen (born July 13, 1952) is Ford International Professor of Political Science at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

and the director of MIT's Security Studies Program. An expert in the field of

security studies __NOTOC__ Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and internationa ...

, he currently serves on the editorial boards of the journals ''

International Security International security, also called global security is a term which refers to the measures taken by states and international organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, and others, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These mea ...

'' and ''

Security Studies __NOTOC__ Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and internationa ...

'' and is a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

and served as a study group member for the

Hart-Rudman Commission The U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (USCNS/21), also known as the Hart-Rudman Commission or Hart-Rudman Task Force on Homeland Security, was chartered by Secretary of Defense William Cohen in 1998 to provide a comprehensive revi ...

. Posen received his B.A. from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

in 1974 and his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

, under

Kenneth Waltz Kenneth Neal Waltz (; June 8, 1924 – May 12, 2013) was an American political scientist who was a member of the faculty at both the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars in the field ...

, from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

in 1976 and 1981 respectively. Posen worked as a consultant for the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finance ...

and an analyst for the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts policy ...

before becoming an assistant professor of political science at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1984. In 1987, he joined

as associate professor of political science and has taught at MIT since that time. He has also served as a consultant to the Woodrow Wilson Center, ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' and the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

. Posen is the author of three books. Posen has also published a number of highly influential journal articles, including "The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict" and "Command of the Commons: The Military Foundations of U.S. Hegemony." In addition to his scholarly work, Posen has frequently appeared in the media and published general interest articles in publications including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', and ''

The American Interest ''The American Interest'' (''AI'') was a bimonthly magazine focusing primarily on foreign policy, international affairs, global economics, and military matters. History The magazine was founded in 2005 by a number of members of the editori ...

''.

Publications

The Sources of Military Doctrine

Posen's first book, ''The Sources of Military Doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany Between the World Wars'', was published by

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in ...

in 1984. ''The Sources of Military Doctrine'' focuses on how

military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference acros ...

is formed and how it shapes

grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...

. The book won the 1984 Edgar S. Furniss Book Award from the Mershon Center for International Security Studies and the 1985 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award, given annually by the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orle ...

to the "best book on government, politics or international affairs."

Inadvertent Escalation

Posen's second book is ''Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks'', which was published by Cornell University Press in 1991.

Restraint

Posen's third book is '' Restraint: A New Foundation for U.S. Grand Strategy'', which was published as part of the Cornell Studies in Security Affairs series in 2014. The book is about two competing American grand strategies: liberal hegemony (which Posen opposes) and restraint (which Posen supports). ''Restraint'' contains Posen's critique of liberal hegemony and his explanation for why restraint is a superior grand strategy. Reviewer William Ruger, writing in ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

'', called the book the "defining treatise" for supporters of restraint.

Notes

External links

Biography: Dr. Barry Posen

Articles at Defense One

Articles at Foreign Affairs

Articles at National Interest

Articles at JSTORA New Transatlantic Division of Labor could save Billions every year!
by Barry Posen
The Transatlantic Relationship: Radical reform is in the U.S. National Interest
by Barry Posen
Europe can defend itself
by Barry Posen
Civil Wars & the Structure of World Power
by Barry Posen

by Barry Posen in The New York Times {{DEFAULTSORT:Posen, Barry Living people 1952 births RAND Corporation people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Occidental College alumni Political realists