
Audrey Kurth Cronin Professor School of International Service
- Additional Positions at AU
- Professor of International Security
- Director, Center for Security, Innovation and New Technology
- Degrees
- DPhil, International Relations, Oxford University; MPhil, International Relations, Oxford University; and A.B., Princeton University (summa cum laude); Marshall Scholar
- Bio
- Audrey Kurth Cronin joined the faculty of the School of International Service in August 2016. She is the Founding Director of the Center for Security, Innovation and New Technology at AU. Professor Cronin’s career has combined academic positions and government service. She was a faculty member and director of the core course on War and Statecraft at the U.S. National War College (2007-2011). Before which she was Academic Director of Studies for the Oxford/Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War at Oxford University (Nuffield College), from 2005 to 2007. Prior, she was Specialist in Terrorism at the Congressional Research Service, responsible for advising Members of Congress in the aftermath of 9/11. She’s served in the U.S. Executive branch, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. She frequently consults at the most senior levels of the U.S. government. Professor Cronin is widely published on strategy and nonstate actors. Her best-known book is How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns (Princeton University Press), which has been translated into Chinese. In 2017, The New Yorker called it "a landmark study." Her newest book, Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow’s Terrorists (Oxford University Press, 2020), analyzes the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies, especially their use by individuals, terrorists, insurgents, proxy armies, and other private actors. It won the 2020 Airey Neave international prize for “the most significant, original, relevant, and practically valuable contribution to the understanding of terrorism.”
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
Teaching
Fall 2020
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SIS-653 Topics in U.S. Foreign Policy: Grand Strategy
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SISU-419 Senior Capstone: Int'l Studies: Ending Terrorism
Spring 2021
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SIS-653 Topics in U.S. Foreign Policy: New Technologies/Emerg Threats
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SISU-397 SIS Honors Colloquium: Exploring Impact of New Tech
AU Experts
Area of Expertise
Emerging technologies and their implications for security; terrorism and counterterrorism; international and U.S. security policy; how terrorism ends; Russia; Europe; the Middle East; North Africa; South Asia; North America
Additional Information
Audrey Kurth Cronin is Founding Director of the Center for Security, Innovation and New Technology at American University. Her career has encompassed positions in both academia and government service. From 2005 to 2007 prior to joining AU, she served as Academic Director of Studies for the Oxford/Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War at the war college from Oxford University. She also has served as Specialist in Terrorism at the Congressional Research Service, responsible for advising Members of Congress in the aftermath of 9/11, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. She frequently consults at the most senior levels of the U.S. government. Prof. Cronin is the author of How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns (Princeton University Press), which The New Yorker labelled a “landmark study.” Her latest book, Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow’s Terrorists (Oxford University Press, 2020), analyzes the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies including drones, robotics, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, and particularly their use by terrorists, insurgents and other private actors. The book was included in Foreign Affairs’ “Best of 2019” list and was short-listed for the 2020 Lionel Gelber prize. Prof. Cronin’s commentary and analysis frequently appears in Foreign Affairs, International Security, Survival, BBC, CNN, NPR (Morning Edition, All Things Considered), The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, among many other media outlets.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.