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Jennifer Kavanagh
Former Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program

about

Jennifer Kavanagh is no longer with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jennifer Kavanagh was a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A political scientist by training, she has spent her career studying national security threats and their consequences for U.S. foreign policy and defense strategy. 

At Carnegie, Jennifer’s research focuses on U.S. defense and military strategy in Asia and the Middle East. In particular, her work examines U.S. military interventions and commitments, alliances and coalition building, and force posture and deterrence.  

Prior to joining Carnegie, Kavanagh was a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where she led projects focused on deterrence, military interventions, and U.S. military posture for defense and national security clients. She was most recently director of the Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program in RAND’s Arroyo Center, which supports the U.S. Army. Kavanagh also co-authored Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life, and co-founded and led RAND’s Countering Truth Decay Initiative, a portfolio of projects focused on polarization, disinformation, and civic development in the United States. 

Kavanagh received an AB in government from Harvard University and a PhD in political science and public policy from the University of Michigan. She is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. 


education
PhD, MA, University of Michigan, AB, Harvard University  
languages
English

All work from Jennifer Kavanagh

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37 Results
In The Media
in the media
The Case Against Israeli-Saudi Normalization

A Deal Won’t Forge a Two-State Solution or Push China Out of the Middle East.

· September 17, 2024
Foreign Affairs
report
Strategic Change in U.S. Foreign Policy

How large foreign policy shifts happen despite pressures to maintain the status quo.

his aerial photo taken on July 16, 2023 shows cranes and shipping containers at Lianyungang port in China's eastern Jiangsu province.
paper
U.S. Engagement in the Indo-Pacific: Don’t Trade Away Trade

A different approach to trade in Asia could represent a middle way between the Biden administration's current approach and the so-called Washington Consensus of old.

Lines of neon colors intersecting on a dark blue background
article
How AI Might Affect Decisionmaking in a National Security Crisis

In a time-sensitive U.S. national crisis, AI would impact the speed, perception, and groupthink of bureaucratic decisionmakers.

In The Media
in the media
How China Will Squeeze, Not Seize, Taiwan

China’s patient, long-term Taiwan policy, together with its modest record of military action abroad, suggests that Beijing’s more probable plan is to gradually intensify the policy it is already pursuing: a creeping encroachment into Taiwan’s airspace, maritime space, and information space. 

· May 22, 2024
Foreign Affairs
In The Media
in the media
Cease-Fire Negotiations

A discussion on cease-fire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas war.

· May 3, 2024
Balance of Power (Bloomberg)
commentary
The Elusive Indo-Pacific Coalition: Why Geography Matters

An explanation on why Asia's geography is interfering with Biden's coalition building in the region--and why this will be hard to overcome.

· April 15, 2024
The Washington Quarterly
In The Media
in the media
It’s Too Soon for Biden and Kishida to Take a Victory Lap

Three uncomfortable questions still hang over the U.S.-Japan alliance.

· April 9, 2024
Foreign Policy
commentary
Washington’s Best Response to the ISIS-K Attack May Be No Response

In an era of constrained resources and major power adversaries, the United States should prioritize its military investments that are already in short supply and high demand.

· March 28, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Bridging the security-economic divide in Asia

The United States' strategy of prioritising security over economic relations is seen as destabilising by Asian countries, which view their economic and security interests as inseparable.

· March 23, 2024
East Asia Forum