Atlantic Council

Biography

Bernard Finel

Dr. Bernard I. Finel, a contributing editor at the Atlantic Council, is associate professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College.

From 2006 to 2010, he was a senior fellow at the American Security Project (ASP) where he directed research on counter-terrorism and defense policy.  He was the lead author of ASP’s annual report, “Are We Winning? Measuring Progress in the Struggle against Violent Jihadism.”

Prior to joining ASP, Dr. Finel was a professor of military strategy and operations at the US National War College from 2004 to 2006. From 1994 to 2004, he held various positions at Georgetown University, most notably as executive director of the Security Studies Program and Center for Peace and Security Studies from 2001 to 2004. He was also on the visiting faculty of the School of Foreign Service and a member of the core faculty of the MA program in security studies. 

Dr. Finel has published widely on international politics and security.  He is co-author and co-editor of two books. Power and Conflict in the Age of Transparency (2000) was one of the first volumes to systematically examine the influence of increasing international transparency on international security.  Ultimate Security: Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (2003) highlighted the challenges to the non-proliferation regime and stressed the ineffectiveness of the US government’s response to the issue. His research has been published in the journals Security Studies, International Security, Aerospace Power Journal, International Studies Quarterly, National Security Studies Quarterly, and World Affairs.

Dr. Finel is a frequent media commentator on international developments. Dr. Finel received his BA in international relations from Tufts University and holds an MA and a PhD in government from Georgetown University.