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Apr 2, 2021

From Myanmar to Iran: Kroenig and Ashford debate Chinese influence around the world

By Atlantic Council

On April 2, Foreign Policy published a biweekly column featuring Scowcroft Center deputy director Matthew Kroenig and New American Engagement Initiative senior fellow Emma Ashford discussing the latest news in international affairs. In this column, they discuss vulnerabilities to the global trading system, China’s preferences for what happens in Myanmar, and the consequences of China imposing retaliatory sanctions […]

China Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Mar 29, 2021

The downsides of downsizing: Why the United States needs four hundred ICBMs

By Matthew Kroenig, Mark J. Massa, Christian Trotti

The United States is at a nuclear modernization crossroads. Critics of the land leg of the nuclear triad believe that an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force of 300 missiles will be cheaper and more stable than a force of 400. This issue brief shows that 400 ICBMs support the goals of US nuclear deterrence and are affordable.

China Defense Policy

100 Ideas for the first 100 days

Mar 29, 2021

#69: Modernize the Ground Leg of the US Nuclear Triad

By: Mark Massa and Raphael Piliero What is the kernel of the issue? Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are essential to the four goals of US nuclear strategy: deterrence of adversaries, assurance of allies, damage limitation, and hedging against an uncertain future. However, US ICBMs are rapidly aging while the nuclear arsenals of great-power competitors are […]

Matthew Kroenig is a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He is also President of CNQ Global Advisors, a geopolitical and strategic advisory firm chaired by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; a tenured professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University; a columnist at Foreign Policy, Henry Kissinger’s designated literary representative, and a member of the advisory committee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Kroenig previously served as a commissioner on the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States (2021-2023), and in the Department of Defense and the intelligence community during the Bush (2004-2005), Obama (2010-2011), and Trump administrations (2017-2021). He received the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. He was a foreign policy advisor on the 2012 Mitt Romney and 2016 Marco Rubio presidential campaigns.  

He is the author or editor of eight books, including The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the US and China (Oxford University Press, 2020) and The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy: Why Strategic Superiority Matters (Oxford University Press, 2018). His articles and commentary regularly appear in major media outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Politico, CBS, BBC, CNN, Fox News, and NPR. 

He previously served as vice president for geostrategy and fellows and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. In these roles, he managed the Scowcroft Center’s bipartisan team of more than forty resident staff, including the: Geostrategy Initiative, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Transatlantic Security Initiative, Forward Defense, the Adrienne Arsht National Security Resilience Initiative, and the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. He also oversaw the Council’s fellows program and vast network of nearly 700 nonresident experts.  

He has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard University, and Stanford University. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds an MA and PhD in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.