James Goldgeier

James Goldgeier is a visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and a professor of international relations at the School of International Service at American University, where he served as dean from 2011-17. In 2018-19, he held the inaugural Library of Congress Chair in U.S.-Russia relations.

Previously, he was a professor at George Washington University, where from 2001-05 he directed the Elliott School’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. He also taught at Cornell University, and has held a number of public policy appointments, including director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs on the National Security Council Staff, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress.

In addition, he has held appointments or fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Hoover Institution, and the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation. He is past president of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, and he co-directs the Bridging the Gap project, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and serves as co-editor of the Oxford University Press Bridging the Gap book series.

Goldgeier has authored or co-authored five books, including “Not Whether But When: The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO” (Brookings Institution Press, 1999); “Power and Purpose: U.S. Policy Toward Russia after the Cold War” (Brookings Institution Press, 2003; co-authored with Michael McFaul); and “America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11” (PublicAffairs 2008; co-authored with Derek Chollet). He is co-editor (with Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson) of “Evaluating NATO Enlargement: From Cold War Victory to the Russia-Ukraine War” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023). He is the recipient of the Edgar S. Furniss Book Award for first time authors in the field of national security studies and the Georgetown University Lepgold Book Prize in International Relations.

He received his bachelors from Harvard and his doctorate in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Affiliations:

• American University, School of International Service, professor of international relations
• Bridging the Gap Project, senior advisor
• State Department Historical Advisory Committee, chair (ended as of April 30, 2025)
• Texas National Security Review, editorial board
• U.S. Department of State, International Security Advisory Board, member (ended as of May 22, 2025)
• Wilson Center, History and Public Policy Program Advisory Board, member (ended as of March 15, 2025)