Matthew Kroenig

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Issues

Defense Policy Defense Technologies Missile Defense Nuclear Deterrence Nuclear Nonproliferation Security & Defense

Regions

China Iran Japan Korea Middle East Russia
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Events

Public Event Wed, March 4, 2026 • 9:30 am ET

War with Iran and its geopolitical implications
Conflict Iran Middle East National Security
Public Event Tue, January 6, 2026 • 9:00 am ET

After Maduro: A new dawn for Venezuela
Americas Democratic Transitions Latin America Politics & Diplomacy
Online Event Tue, December 9, 2025 • 11:30 am ET

Making sense of the National Security Strategy
Americas Europe & Eurasia Indo-Pacific National Security
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All Content

In the News

May 15, 2020

Kroenig in the Financial Times: Machiavelli offered a compelling argument for the superiority of republics

By Atlantic Council

On Friday, May 15, the Financial Times published a Letter to the Editor by Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Matthew Kroenig, in which he reminds readers that Machiavelli offered a convincing defense of republics as a superior system of government. With the US-China rivalry intensifying, many are wondering whether autocracy or democracy is a better form […]

China Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

May 15, 2020

Kroenig and Ashford in Foreign Policy: Should the United States facilitate regime change?

By Atlantic Council

On May 15, Foreign Policy published a biweekly column featuring Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Matthew Kroenig and the Cato Institute’s Emma Ashford discussing the latest news in international affairs. In this column, they debate the risks, downsides, and rewards of facilitating regime change. The column opens with a discussion of US opposition to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, […]

China Coronavirus

In the News

May 13, 2020

Kroenig in Foreign Policy: The United States Should Not Align with Russia to Counter China

By Atlantic Council

On May 13, Foreign Policy published an op-ed by Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Matthew Kroenig in which he argues the United States should not align with Russia to counter China. Instead, the United States should leverage its democratic advantages and work with allies to counter both Russia and China. While Russia and China may be […]

China Politics & Diplomacy
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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.