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
About Related Content

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

Jan 7, 2026

Kroenig interviewed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Trump’s foreign policy

By Atlantic Council

On January 7, Atlantic Council vice president and Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig was interviewed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on recent developments in US foreign policy. He explains that Trump's threats of military action in Greenland are a negotiating tactic, defends the decision to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and argues that the administration will shift its focus to Cuba and its collaboration with the People's Republic of China next.

Americas Europe & Eurasia

In the News

Jan 6, 2026

Kroenig featured in the New York Times on ousting Maduro

By Atlantic Council

On January 6, Atlantic Council vice president and Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig wrote an article in the New York Times titled "Trump Was Right to Oust Maduro." He argues that Maduro threatened vital US security interests, and that his removal from power creates opportunity for better governance in Venezuela.

Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense

In the News

Jan 5, 2026

Kroenig quoted in Politico on US policy in Venezuela

By Atlantic Council

On January 5, Atlantic Council vice president and Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig was quoted in Politico's "National Security Daily" on the Trump administration's Venezuela policy. He explains that administration's ambiguity is intentional and aimed at preventing fractures within the Republican party.

National Security 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.