home > the cfr think tank > experts > james m. lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
Contact Info:
Phone: +1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
E-mail: jlindsay@cfr.org
Location:
New York, NY and Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 464K)
One-page bio (PDF, 59K)
Award-winning coauthor of America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy and former director for global issues and multilateral affairs at the National Security Council.
Expertise:U.S. foreign policy; Congress; domestic politics; news media and public opinion.
Experience:Director, Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and Tom Slick Chair for International Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin (2006-2009); Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations (2003-2006); Deputy Director and Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution (1999-2003); Consultant to the United States Commission on National Security/21st Century, Hart-Rudman Commission, (2000-2001); Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa (1987-99); Director for Global Issues and Multilateral Affairs, National Security Council (1996-97).
Honors:Winner of the 2003 Lionel Gelber Prize for America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy, chosen by The Economist as one of the best books of 2003; International Affairs Fellowship, Council on Foreign Relations (1995); Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs (1990).
Selected Publications:America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy (coauthor, Brookings Institution Press, 2003); Agenda for the Nation (coeditor, Brookings Institution Press, 2003); Protecting the American Homeland: One Year On (coauthor, Brookings Institution Press, 2003); Defending America: The Case for Limited National Missile Defense (coauthor, Brookings Institution Press, 2001); U.S. Foreign Policy After the Cold War (coeditor, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997); Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994); Congress Resurgent: Foreign and Defense Policy on Capitol Hill (coeditor, University of Michigan Press, 1993); Congress and Nuclear Weapons (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
Current Research Project
January 28, 2010
Interview
President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address focused heavily, as expected, on domestic economic recovery and reasserting U.S. competitiveness. Six CFR experts noted different aspects of the challenges facing Obama.
See more in United States, U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 30, 2009
Interview
CFR's James M. Lindsay summarizes President Obama's first year as "great expectations running smack into daunting realities," including the Afghan war, China's rise, and Iran's nuclear program.
See more in International Peace and Security, Diplomacy, U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 24, 2009
Podcast
A preview of world events in the coming year from CFR.org.
December 17, 2009
Op-Ed
Baltimore Sun
Based on the recent findings of a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center and the Council on Foreign Relations, support for President Obama's foreign policy is dwindling amongst the American public, writes James Lindsay.
See more in Nation Building, Polls, Presidency
December 4, 2009
Transcript
Michele Flournoy, Brigadier General John "Mick" Nicholson, Director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell, Joint Staff, and Paul Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan for the Department of State provide a special briefing on Afghanistan at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington D.C..
See more in Afghanistan, Defense Strategy
December 3, 2009
First Take
A Pew-CFR survey shows a surge in Americans' isolationist sentiment, stimulated by the financial crisis. CFR's James Lindsay says this poses added hurdles for President Obama's new Afghan strategy.
See more in Afghanistan, Global Governance
December 3, 2009
Audio
Andrew Kohut and James M. Lindsay discuss the findings of a quadrennial survey of foreign policy and national security attitudes conducted by CFR and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
See more in United States, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Media and Public Opinion, Polls
November 18, 2009
Audio
Listen to experts discuss organized crime including the circumstances under which criminal activities constitute a threat to national security.
This session was part of the CFR symposium, Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere: An Overlooked Threat?, undertaken in collaboration with the Latin American Program and Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and made possible by the generous support of the Hauser Foundation, Tinker Foundation, and a grant from the Robina Foundation for CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program.
See more in Homeland Security, Narcotics Control
November 18, 2009
Video
Watch experts discuss organized crime including the circumstances under which criminal activities constitute a threat to national security.
This session was part of the CFR symposium, Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere: An Overlooked Threat?, undertaken in collaboration with the Latin American Program and Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and made possible by the generous support of the Hauser Foundation, Tinker Foundation, and a grant from the Robina Foundation for CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program.
See more in National Security and Defense, Narcotics Control
November 18, 2009
Transcript
Session One of a Council on Foreign Relations Symposium on Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere: An Overlooked Threat? Subject: Organized Crime and Transnational Threats. Held at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York.
See more in Central America, South America, Drugs, Narcotics Control
September 22, 2009
Audio
Listen to Ray Takeyh, CFR's senior fellow for middle eastern studies, and James Lindsay, CFR's director of studies, discuss nuclear proliferation and Iran's nuclear program in advance of high-level talks at the United Nations.
See more in Iran, UN, Proliferation
September 22, 2009
Transcript
Ray Takeyh and James M. Lindsay discuss Iran and nonproliferation.
See more in Iran, Proliferation
September 17, 2009
First Take
In this First Take, CFR's James M. Lindsay says President Obama's decision to alter missile defense plans in Eastern Europe makes sense from a military standpoint but he faces challenges in selling the strategy to Americans.
See more in United States, Missile Defense
September 29, 2008
Interview
James M. Lindsay, an expert on U.S. foreign policy, and a former director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the first presidential debate between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.
See more in United States, Presidency, U.S. Election 2008
January 29, 2008
Interview
James M. Lindsay, an expert on U.S. politics and foreign policy, says President Bush will be regarded as “a below-average president” due to issues like Iraq and immigration reform.
See more in Congress, Presidency
Updated: November 9, 2006
Interview
James M. Lindsay, an expert on Congress and American foreign policy, says in the aftermath of the Democratic Party victories in the midterm elections, many politicians are hoping that the “knight in shining armor” to rescue Iraq policy may lie in the special commission headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Lee Hamilton.
See more in United States, Elections, Congress and Foreign Policy
October 1, 2006
Article
American Prospect
See more in U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 18, 2006
Op-Ed
The Washington Post
See more in United States, Terrorism, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 15, 2006
Video
Listen to Professors Robert Keohane and Peter Katzenstein and Council Senior Fellow Julia Sweig explore the complex global phenomenon of anti-Americanism.
See more in Public Diplomacy
May 15, 2006
Transcript
Professors Robert Keohane and Peter Katzenstein join CFR fellow Julia Sweig in exploring the various forms of Anti-Americanism across regions and governments as a complex yet powerful global phenomenon.
See more in Public Diplomacy
Explore the international oceans regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
This report explores how international legal rules regarding military force might evolve to better meet the challenges of mass atrocities.
The authors of this CSR explain why the United States needs to place greater emphasis on preventive action and how current organizational arrangements can be changed to meet that need.
This report addresses pan-Asian and trans-Pacific architectures and guidelines for how the United States can revise its approach in order to consolidate and improve the efficacy of these Asian institutions.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Through compelling analysis and rich historical examples that span the globe and range from the thirteenth century through the present, Charles A. Kupchan explores how adversaries can transform enmity into amity, and exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace.
With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine Israel's adversity-driven culture to offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
Vali Nasr reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
