Benjamin Friedman, Professor, Security Policy Studies, #ElliottExpert Professor/Instructor
Benjamin Friedman is Policy Director at Defense Priorities, a realist think tank that is small and hopefully growing. His expertise is in Defense Policy and risk perception, and he has written a large number of academic and popular articles on those topics. He’s co-edited three books, ‘US Military Innovation Since the Cold War: Creation without Destruction‘ (Routledge 2008), ‘Terrorizing Ourselves: Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy is Failing and How to Fix It‘ (Cato 2013), and U.S. Grand Strategy in the 21st Century the Case for Restraint‘ (Routledge 2017). He needs to finish a Ph.D. Thesis on Threat Exaggeration in U.S. foreign policy.
- Program/Institute: Security Policy Studies
- Area(s) of expertise: Defense Policy, Grand Strategy
- Undergrad Institution & Degree: Dartmouth, Government
- Ph.D. Institution & Thesis: MIT (Incomplete), Threat Inflation
- Fall 2019 Courses: US Grand Strategy
What made you interested in your field of study/area of expertise?
Nothing spectacular did it. I was always reading about politics, and once I started reading about security studies and international affairs in college that became the species of politics most interesting to me. My MIT professor Harvey Sapolsky had a big influence on my thinking. 9-11 and the War in Iraq made me interested in threat inflation and its consequences.
What was your favorite work, intern or volunteer experience, and why?
Being a camp counselor was like getting paid to goof around with my friends in the woods. I was also a fine soccer referee.
If you could have any other career, unrelated to what you do now, what would it be?
Probably a pure striker riding out the end of my career in an obscure Asian league while writing provocative novels involving political intrigue and hard choices. That or Mayor of Boston.
What advice do you have for first-year students who are starting their internship or work experience search?
Reading makes you smarter. Not sleeping makes you dumber.
Best hidden talent?
Picking out the killer in whodunnits early in the show.
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The #ElliottExpert profile series is managed by the Elliott School Office of Graduate Admissions and highlights current professors to answer common questions posed by prospective, incoming, and current students. For more information on this series or to submit questions, e-mail the Office of Graduate Admissions at esiagrad@gwu.edu.
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