Alexander Alden is a nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He is a senior advisor with Palantir Technologies where he focuses on expanding collaboration with allied and partner governments.

Alden previously served as deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs. In this capacity, he was the Department of State senior official responsible for strengthening US-EU relations and for countering Chinese regional influence. At the National Security Council, he was senior director for emerging technologies and director for defense policy. He also served as special assistant for policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he coordinated major strategic reviews.

Outside of government service, Alden was the national security editor for American Affairs, senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest, and project director at the Center for Naval Analyses. In private consulting, he provided actionable analysis to government and corporate clients as managing director of the Rimland Strategies Group and manager of analysis at the Avascent Group.

Alden has an MA in political science from the Johns Hopkins University where he pursued doctoral research and taught courses on international relations. His BA is in political science and philosophy from Southern Illinois University.