David C. Unger (b. March 5, 1947 in Brooklyn, NY, USA) is a journalist, former foreign affairs editorial writer for ''

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 ...

'' (1977–2013) and author of the book ''The Emergency State''. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of

American Foreign Policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, School of Advanced International Studies Europe, at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and Contributing Editor at ''Survival''.''The New York Times'', 1977-2013Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, Bologna, Italy; Faculty
/ref>
''The New York Times'', March 16, 2012 Unger received an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in History and Comparative Literature from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from the University of Texas, Austin and has done additional graduate studies at the

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the Institute for Historical Research,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He studied American foreign policy with Walter LaFeber at Cornell,

economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...

with

W.W. Rostow Walt Whitman Rostow (October 7, 1916 – February 13, 2003) was an American economist, professor and political theorist who served as National Security Advisor to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1969. Rostow worked ...

and M.M. Postan at the University of Texas, and British labor history with

E.J. Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. H ...

at the University of London.

Early life

Unger grew up in Brooklyn and attended New York City public schools through high school. After receiving his bachelor's from Cornell he worked as an elementary school teacher in public schools in Brooklyn and Staten Island for three years. He began work at ''The New York Times'' in 1977 as a news clerk for its editorial board while completing his doctorate from the University of Texas.

Writing

In addition to numerous articles he has written for ''The New York Times'' and other periodicals, Unger wrote the book, ''The Emergency State'' (published 2012) in which, according to a review in ''The New York Times'', he "...deplores what he sees as Washington’s obsession with security and overreliance on military and intelligence capabilities, arguing that they are dangerous perversions of the country’s Jeffersonian traditions." Other recent publications include chapters he contributed to ''Origins of the National Security State and The Legacy of Harry S. Truman'' (2015) and a 2013 Italian-language book, ''22 novembre 1963, Il giorno in cui ci svegliammo dal sogno cinquat'anni dopo: JFK visto dagli americani d'Italia'' (''22 November 1963, Fifty years after the day we woke from the dream: Views of JFK by Americans in Italy'') titled, "Un americano amico dell’Europa" ("An American Friend of Europe"). His essay, "A Better Internationalism" was published in the spring, 2012 edition of ''

World Policy Journal ''World Policy Journal'' was the flagship publication of the World Policy Institute, published by Duke University Press. Focusing on international relations, the publication provided left-wing, non-United States-centric perspectives to world issue ...

''.

Professional organizations

Unger has been a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

since 1989;Council on Foreign Relations, Membership Roster
/ref> the Foreign Policy Roundtable, in New York City (from 1997 to 2007); a presenter and discussion leader at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs - on topics such as ''Wealth and Terror: Why America’s Quest for Absolute Security Is a Mission Impossible that Can Also Destroy Our Democracy'' (2007) and ''Maps of War, Maps of Peace: Finding a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Question'' (2002) - and a guest seminar leader at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on ''Obama and U.S. Foreign Policy'' (Nov., 2008).

Languages

In addition to his native English, Unger speaks, reads and writes French, Italian and Spanish.

References

Selected publications

''The Emergency State:How to End America’s Obsessive Quest for National Security and Reclaim our Democracy''
Penguin Press (February 16, 2012) * Review of ''Innocent Abroad, The New York Times Book Review'', Feb 1, 2009 * Over 3,000 foreign policy editorials published in ''The New York Times'' (1977-2013)
Articles in ''The New York Times'' by David Unger
* Unger, David. "Un americano amico dell'Europa" ("An American Friend of Europe"), ''22 novembre 1963, Il giorno in cui ci svegliammo dal sogno cinquat'anni dopo: JFK visto dagli americani d'Italia'' (''22 November 1963, Fifty years after the day we woke from the dream: Views of JFK by Americans in Italy''), Monti; Saronno, Italy, 2013
"A Better Internationalism,"
''World Policy Journal'', Spring 2012
''The Inevitable Two State Solution,''
''World Policy Journal'', Fall, 2008
''Maps of War, Maps of Peace: Finding a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Question''
''World Policy Journal'', Summer, 2002
''Asian Anxieties, Pacific Overtures: Experiments in Security for a New Asia-Pacific Community,''
''World Policy Journal'', Summer, 1994
A media collection of ''The Emergency State''

“The Politics and Political Legacy of Harry S. Truman's National Security Policies”
''Origins of the National Security State and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman'' (''Truman Legacy Series, Vol. 11''), 2015

Selected presentations

*"The US-Italy relationship in a Changing World" (Panel discussion sponsored by Istituto Affair Internazionale and US Embassy, Rome (May 2018) *"America First, Political and Cultural Nationalism in the US" (Centro di Studi Americani e Transatlantici P. Bairati, Universita di Torino (December 2017) *"How the National Security Act of 1947 built the foundations for a peacetime national security state" (Panel discussion, American Historical Association, Denver, USA (Jan. 7, 2017) *"Post US Presidential Elections – The foreign policy debate" (Panel discussion, Johns Hopkins University, SAIS Europe Bologna, Italy (Dec. 5, 2016) *"The Election of Donald Trump: What does It mean for Europe, the world, and the United States?" (Faculty of Political Science, University of Cagliari, Italy (Nov. 22, 2016)

Television appearance

Jeff Glor interviews David Unger about his book ''The Emergency State: America's Pursuit of Absolute Security at All Costs''; CBS News, March 8, 2012

Website

Webpage on David C. Unger, Adjunct Professor of American Foreign Policy, School of Advanced International Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, David Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni The New York Times writers American male journalists 1947 births Cornell University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni Alumni of the School of Advanced Study Writers from Brooklyn Journalists from New York City