Nikolas K. Gvosdev

Former Carnegie Council Senior Fellow, U.S. Global Engagement Initiative (USGE); U.S. Naval War College

Nikolas K. Gvosdev was a senior fellow for the U.S. Global Engagement Initiative (USGE) at Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

He is also a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, the director of the Policy Analysis sub-course in the National Security Affairs Department, and the Captain Jerome E. Levy Chair in economic geography and national security.

Gvosdev was the editor of The National Interest and remains a senior editor at the magazine. In addition, he holds a non-residential senior fellowship at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is a co-author of U.S. Foreign Policy and Defense Strategy: The Evolution of an Incidental Superpower (2015). He previously published Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Vectors and Sectors (with Christopher Marsh) in 2013.

Gvosdev is a frequent commentator on U.S. foreign policy and international relations, Russian and Eurasian affairs, and developments in the Middle East.

Featured Work

President Donald J. Trump walks off the stage at the Southsea Common in Portsmouth, England. CREDIT: <a href=https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/48012260898/>The White House (CC)</a>.

AUG 20, 2019 Article

Beyond Trump

Some countries are now coming to the same conclusions reached by the U.S. Global Engagement program: the 2016 election was not a "blip," but represents ...

Senator Elizabeth Warren in Las Vegas, April, 2019. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Warren_(47699370372).jpg">Gage Skidmore (CC)</a>

JUL 31, 2019 Article

Democratic Candidates and Foreign Policy

Which foreign policy narratives have emerged from the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates? Will it be restorationist, democratic community, America First, retrenchment/redefinition, reindustrialization/regeneration, or climate ...

JUN 19, 2019 Podcast

Foreign Policy & the 2020 Democratic Candidates, with Nikolas Gvosdev

Will Joe Biden's "restorationist" foreign policy resonate with voters? What would a "progressive" approach to international relations look like for Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders? ...

JUN 12, 2019 Article

The Anti-Narrative

Among the electorate, especially since the 2016 election, there is a counter-narrative at play regarding the role of the U.S. in international affairs. This "anti-narrative" ...

JUN 11, 2019 Podcast

Global Ethics Weekly: U.S.-Russian Relations, Ukraine, & the G-20, with Nikolas Gvosdev

Following up on his talk with RAND analyst Ali Wyne on great-power competition, Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev gives an update on U.S.-Russian relations, ...

Secretary of State Pompeo & President Trump at NATO headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, July 2018. CREDIT: <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Secretary_Pompeo_Participates_in_Press_Conference_With_President_Trump_at_NATO_(42456753975).jpg>U.S. Department of State (CC)</a>

JUN 10, 2019 Podcast

The American Public and U.S. Global Engagement: Mid-2019 Snapshot, with Ali Wyne

Looking ahead to the 2020 election and the role that foreign policy will play on the campaign trail, Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev talks with RAND's Ali ...

JUN 3, 2019 Article

Emerging Narratives for U.S. Foreign Policy

As we continue to move into the 21st century, the "post-Cold War" designation loses relevance. Yet a new construct and narrative has not emerged to ...

MAY 24, 2019 Podcast

Rebuilding the Narrative: Recreating the Rationale for U.S. Leadership, with Ash Jain

There is skepticism about the core values of U.S. policy from both sides, says Ash Jain of the Atlantic Council, and the international order ...

MAY 23, 2019 Podcast

Global Ethics Weekly: Millennials, Climate Change, & Foreign Policy, with Nikolas Gvosdev

Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev discusses the generational divide in U.S. politics in the context of foreign policy and the environment. What are the international ...

MAY 21, 2019 Article

Wichita and American Global Engagement

Senior Fellw Nikolas Gvosdev discusses his takeaways from a visit to the Wichita Committee on Foreign Relations and from a talk from foreign policy analyst ...