DAVID AUERSWALD is Professor of Security Studies at the U.S. National War College (NWC) in Washington, DC. Since joining the NWC faculty in 2001, he has served as Acting Dean of Faculty, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, and as a Course Director for major portions of the NWC curriculum on five separate occasions.
Dr. Auerswald has published articles and chapters on a variety of national security and foreign policy topics. His most recent work has focused on the geopolitics of the Arctic, as well as civil-military relations, and includes:
- “Toward Integrated Deterrence: Sweden’s Role on NATO’s Northern Flank,” Journal of Arctic and Climate Security Studies, April 2023, with Lisa Aronsson, Jaclyn Kerr and Brett Swaney.
- “Some Assembly Required: Explaining Variations in Legislative Oversight Over the Armed Forces,” Foreign Policy Analysis, 19, 1 (January 2023), co-authored with Philippe Lagasse and Stephen Saideman.
- “All Security is Local: Arctic Defense Policies and Domain Awareness,” Atlantic Council report, 30 March 2022, available at https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/all-security-is-local-arctic-defense-policies-and-domain-awareness/.
- “A U.S. Security Strategy for the Arctic,” War on the Rocks, 27 May 2021, available at https://warontherocks.com/2021/05/a-u-s-security-strategy-for-the-arctic/.
- “NATO in the Arctic: Keep Its Role Limited, For Now,” War on the Rocks, 12 October 2020, available at https://warontherocks.com/2020/10/nato-in-the-arctic-keep-its-role-limited-for-now/.
- “Arctic Narratives and Geopolitical Competition,” chapter 15 in Handbook on Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic. Edited by Joachim Weber. (Switzerland: Springer Publishing, 2020): 251-271.
- “China’s Multifaceted Arctic Strategy,” War on the Rocks, 24 May 2019, available at https://warontherocks.com/2019/05/chinas-multifaceted-arctic-strategy/.
Dr. Auerswald has published five books. His most recent are:
- Congress and Civil-Military Relations. Edited with Colton Campbell. (Georgetown University Press, 2015).
- NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone. Co-authored with Stephen Saideman. (Princeton University Press, 2014).
Dr. Auerswald previously served on the faculty of George Washington University’s Department of Political Science and the Elliott School of International Affairs. He has worked as a congressional staff member on three separate occasions. Dr. Auerswald received his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the University of California, San Diego, and undergraduate degrees in political science and English literature from Brown University. He is the recipient of the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award, Department of Defense.
REGIONAL EXPERTISE: Arctic, Northern Europe
FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE: NATO, Congress, the NSC, Civil-Military Relations
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