Security Studies

Joseph Maguire, Professor of Practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs

Renowned Navy SEAL and former acting National Intelligence Director, Vice Admiral (Ret.) Joe Maguire, appointed Professor of Practice at the LBJ School and Executive Director of Clements Center for National Security at The University of Texas

Feb. 7, 2024

With more than four decades of experience on the front lines and in the situation room, Admiral Maguire will teach courses on national security, intelligence, leadership, and ethics to master's students studying public affairs and global policy.

Cesar Martinez Espinosa headshot against burnt orange background

Alumni Spotlight: Cesar Espinosa Martinez (MPAff '05 and PhD 2013)

Sept. 13, 2023

Since earning both a master’s degree and PhD from the LBJ School, Cesar Espinosa Martinez’s career has spanned national security, resilience and business strategy. A few years ago, he founded his own venture, Intelligence Mill, to provide businesses and organizations data-driven research, insights and solutions. Recently, he orchestrated a successful statewide tour fostering cross-border collaborations and talent pipelines, leaving an important mark in both Mexican and U.S. business spheres. Here, he and his wife tell us more about his time at the LBJ School.

Naval War College, The University of Texas, Colorado School of Mines Selected by DoD as One of Six Teams for Social Science Research

March 13, 2023

The clean energy transition will be minerals and metals intensive. Currently, supply chains are overwhelmingly reliant on imports from China. The U.S. Department of Defense has selected the LBJ School's Dr. Joshua Busby to research critical minerals, battery technology, and reducing dependence on hostile suppliers in the clean energy supply chain.

Strauss and Clements announce the launch of the Asia Policy Program

Sept. 24, 2021
The Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the Clements Center for National Security are pl

LBJ Authors: Admiral William McRaven and 'The Hero Code'

May 5, 2021
Retired Navy admiral and LBJ School professor of national security William McRaven gives tribute to the real, everyday heroes he's met over the years, from battlefields to hospitals to college camp

The rise of strategic corruption: How states weaponize graft

Essay
Foreign Affairs
Cover of Foreign Affairs July/August 2020

Graft is nothing new; it may be the second-oldest profession. Powerful people and those with access to them have always used kickbacks, pay-to-play schemes, and other corrupt practices to feather their nests and gain unfair advantages. And such corruption has always posed a threat to the rule of law and stood in the way of protecting basic civil and economic rights.

What is new, however, is the transformation of corruption into an instrument of national strategy. In recent years, a number of countries—China and Russia, in particular—have found ways to take the kind of corruption that was previously a mere feature of their own political systems and transform it into a weapon on the global stage. Countries have done this before, but never on the scale seen today.

Research Topic
Security Studies

Wisdom without tears: Statecraft and the uses of history

Article, Refereed Journal
Journal of Strategic Studies, volume 41, Issue 7, 2018
Brands, Hal

The world is mired in history again, as historical modes of competition return and historical grievances fuel the policies of multiple revisionist actors. If the end of history has ended, then it follows that the time is ripe for an engagement with history's wisdom. We argue that the making of American statecraft — the deliberate, coordinated use of national power to achieve important objectives — can be significantly enhanced by a better understanding of the past. This essay, which draws on the extensive literature on history and statecraft, U.S. foreign policy, and the author's own research and experiences, offers a defense of the use of history to improve statecraft, as well as a typology of 10 distinct ways in which an understanding of history can improve government policy.

Research Topic
Security Studies

Ronald Reagan, exemplar of conservative internationalism?

Article, Non-Refereed Journal
Orbis, volume 62, Issue 1
Cover of Orbis®, the Foreign Policy Research Institute‘s quarterly journal of world affairs

This article assesses the foreign policy of Ronald Reagan's presidency through the lens of conservative internationalism. It finds that the Reagan administration largely embodied the principles of conservative internationalism, particularly through its integration of force with statecraft, the priority it gave to cooperative relations with allies, and its support for the global expansion of political and economic liberty.

Research Topic
Security Studies
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