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Peter D. Feaver, Professor of Political Science and Professor  

Office Phone: +1 919 660 4331
Duke Box: 90204
Email Address: pfeaver@duke.edu
Web Page: https://duke.box.com/v/peter-feaver-cv

Areas of Expertise

  • International
    • Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping
    • U.S. Foreign Policy
  • National Security and Defense, Homeland Security

Education:
Ph.D., Harvard University, 1990
A.M., Harvard University, 1986
B.A., Lehigh University, 1983

Research Categories: Security Studies, Civil-Military Relations and Nuclear Weapons

Research Description: Peter D. Feaver (Ph.D., Harvard, 1990) is a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Duke University. He is Director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS) and also Director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy (AGS). From June 2005 to July 2007, Feaver was on leave to be Special Advisor for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform on the National Security Council Staff at the White House where his responsibilities included the national security strategy, regional strategy reviews, and other political-military issues. Feaver is author of Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil-Military Relations (Harvard Press, 2003) and of Guarding the Guardians: Civilian Control of Nuclear Weapons in the United States (Cornell University Press, 1992). He is co-author: with Christopher Gelpi and Jason Reifler, of Paying the Human Costs of War (Princeton University Press, 2009); with Susan Wasiolek and Anne Crossman, of Getting the Most Out of College (Ten Speed Press, 2008); and with Christopher Gelpi, of Choosing Your Battles: American Civil-Military Relations and the Use of Force (Princeton University Press, 2004). He is co-editor, with Richard H. Kohn, of Soldiers and Civilians: The Civil-Military Gap and American National Security (MIT Press, 2001). He has published numerous other monographs, scholarly articles, book chapters, and policy pieces on American foreign policy, public opinion, nuclear proliferation, civil-military relations, information warfare, and U.S. national security. He is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, blogs at shadow.foreignpolicy.com, and is a Contributing Editor to Foreign Policy magazine. In 1993-94, Feaver served as Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council at the White House where his responsibilities included the national security strategy review, counterproliferation policy, regional nuclear arms control, and other defense policy issues.

Teaching (Spring 2024):

  • Polsci 365d.001, Foreign policy of the us Synopsis
    Social sciences 136, MW 10:20 AM-11:10 AM
  • Polsci 497s-3.01, Senior seminar in spc Synopsis
    Gross hall 270, W 03:05 PM-05:35 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Urben, HA. "Book Review: Thanks for your service: The causes and consequences of public confidence in the U.S. military." Armed Forces & Society (October, 2023). [doi]
  2. Feaver, PD. Thanks for your service: The causes and consequences of public confidence in the US military. July, 2023. 1-310 pp. [doi]  [abs]
  3. Feaver, P. "What Not to Worry About in the Policy–Academy Gap Debate: A Contrarian Take." Armed Forces and Society 49.1 (January, 2023): 20-25. [doi]  [abs]
  4. Brands, H; Feaver, P. "Getting grand strategy right." The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy. September, 2021: 559-574.
  5. Dunlap, C. "Civil-Military Relations." 2.1 (2021): 211-241. [Gateway.cgi], [doi]  [abs]

Curriculum Vitae

Highlight:

Peter D. Feaver (Ph.D., Harvard, 1990) is a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Duke University.  He is Director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy and Co-PI of the America in the World Consortium. Feaver is author of Thanks For Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military (Oxford University Press, 2023), Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil-Military Relations (Harvard Press, 2003) and of Guarding the Guardians: Civilian Control of Nuclear Weapons in the United States (Cornell University Press, 1992). He is co-author: with Christopher Gelpi and Jason Reifler, of Paying the Human Costs of War (Princeton Press, 2009); with Susan Wasiolek and Anne Crossman, of Getting the Best Out of College (Ten Speed Press, 2008, 2nd edition 2012); and with Christopher Gelpi, of Choosing Your Battles: American Civil-Military Relations and the Use of Force (Princeton Press, 2004). He is co-editor, with Richard H. Kohn, of Soldiers and Civilians: The Civil-Military Gap and American National Security (MIT Press, 2001).  He has published numerous other monographs, scholarly articles, book chapters, and policy pieces on grand strategy, American foreign policy, public opinion, nuclear proliferation, civil-military relations, and cybersecurity.

From June 2005 to July 2007, Feaver served as Special Advisor for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform on the National Security Council Staff at the White House where his responsibilities included the national security strategy, regional strategy reviews, and other political-military issues. In 1993-94, Feaver served as Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council at the White House where his responsibilities included the national security strategy review, counterproliferation policy, regional nuclear arms control, and other defense policy issues.  He is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and is a contributor to “Shadow Government” at ForeignPolicy.com.

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

  • Nathaniel J. Harris  
  • Seth Cantey  
  • Daniel Krcmaric  
  • Andrew Bell  
  • Daniel Bessner  
  • Christopher Q. Barnett  
  • Eric B Lorber  

Peter D. Feaver