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Frances Z. Brown
Vice President for Studies, Co-Director, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
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about

Frances Z. Brown is no longer with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Dr. Frances Z. Brown is a vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She also co-directs Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance program, and oversees the Africa program and Global Order and Institutions program at the vice-presidential level.  

Before joining Carnegie in 2017, Brown served as director for democracy and fragile states on the White House National Security Council (NSC) staff, where she helped manage policy processes on democracy support and conflict stabilization efforts.  Prior to the NSC, Brown worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Transition Initiatives, managing political transition programs in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Other experience includes work at the Defense Department, in non-profits, and in the private sector. Previous research roles include fellowships with the Council on Foreign Relations, Columbia University, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, as well as her doctoral work at Oxford.  

She has published in the American Interest, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the International Herald Tribune, and elsewhere. On television, Brown has commented on U.S. foreign policy for BBC World News, ABC News (Australia), al-Jazeera, and elsewhere. She is a security fellow with the Truman National Security Project.


affiliations
areas of expertise
Foreign PolicyMiddle EastNorth AfricaIraqLebanonSyriaSouthern, Eastern, and Western AfricaSouth AsiaAfghanistanDemocracyMaliSecurity
education
PhD, International Relations, University of Oxford, MA, International Relations, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), BA, Yale University

All work from Frances Z. Brown

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63 Results
event
Reverberations of Multiple Crises: What to Expect in 2023
December 7, 2022

The Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center will be holding its sixth annual conference on December 7–8, 2022, covering global political and economic issues, the main purpose of which is to anticipate what will happen in 2023.

  • +30
commentary
The Best Foreign Policy Podcasts

Carnegie experts share their audio favorites for keeping up on news, debates, and trends in international affairs.

  • +5
· September 30, 2022
event
Book Launch – Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy
September 8, 2022

Join us for a special event featuring Carnegie Africa Program director Zainab Usman and her latest book, Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy. Usman will give remarks on the challenge of economic diversification in resource-rich Nigeria, followed by an in-depth panel discussion.

  • +3
In The Media
in the media
The US Needs a Global Anti-Coup Strategy

What should an enhanced anti-coup strategy entail? The Biden team can start by sharpening its immediate post-coup playbook. But to effectively counter the growing coup trend, Washington needs to look beyond immediate response.

· June 1, 2022
paper
Governance for Resilience: How Can States Prepare for the Next Crisis?

As policymakers look ahead, they must find a way to balance the need for inclusive resilience with the imperative for meaningful reform.

· May 23, 2022
In The Media
in the media
Ahead of the State of the Union: Analysis from Diplomats, Top Experts

Democracy is under global siege. Authoritarians like Putin benefit from attention being diverted elsewhere. As President Biden embarks on his second year in office, he should not let his agenda to bolster global democracy be yet another casualty of Putin’s game.

· February 28, 2022
In The Media
in the media
Democracy Talk Is Cheap

Concrete action is the only way Biden can turn back the illiberal tide.

· January 10, 2022
commentary
Carnegie Scholars’ Best Books of 2021

Our experts share their favorite reads, from escapist fantasy to riveting memoirs.

  • +5
· December 22, 2021
In The Media
in the media
Impact of Biden’s Summit for Democracy

The Biden administration is using the democracy summity to try to set out an agenda to renew democracy, both globally and also in the United States.

· December 17, 2021
In The Media
in the media
Biden’s ‘Initiative for Democratic Renewal’

Open questions remain on how all the worthy technical assistance initiatives announced with the summit will be underpinned by U.S. diplomatic leverage, economic pressure, and even security assistance-related policies, in key countries, in the months and years to come.

· December 10, 2021