A. Bradley Potter
Former Pre-Doctoral Fellow
Biography
A. Bradley Potter earned his PhD in the Strategic Studies Department of Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and was a predoctoral research fellow at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs. Following graduation, Brad served as the inaugural Stanton Visiting Scientist at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
His scholarship resides at the intersection of security and strategic studies, specifically addressing questions surrounding wartime leadership and decision making, war termination, U.S. foreign policy, and technology in war. Brad’s dissertation examined the role of historically-informed ideas in influencing American approaches to terminating military interventions between Vietnam to Afghanistan. Between 2017 and 2019, he was a predoctoral research fellow in the International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Prior to that, he was a George Abernethy Fellow at the Bologna, Italy campus of Johns Hopkins University, SAIS. His work has also been supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, Tobin Project, and Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
Brad holds a PhD and M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University, SAIS and a B.S. in international relations (with honors) and physics from the College of William and Mary. His work may be found in the Texas National Security Review, War on the Rocks, and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, among other publications.
Expertise
- American Foreign Policy
- International Security
- Wartime Decision-making
- War Termination
- Diplomacy
- Technology in War
- Nuclear Security
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications
"When Do Leaders Change Course? Theories of Success and the American Withdrawal from Beirut, 1983-1984," with Alexandra Evans, Texas National Security Review, 2, no. 2 (February 2019): 10 – 38.
https://tnsr.org/2019/02/when-do-leaders-change-course-theories-of-success-and-the-american-withdrawal-from-beirut-1983-1984/
"A Sustainable Training Strategy for Improving Healthcare Following a Catastrophic Radiological or Nuclear Incident," with Daniel J. Blumenthal et al., Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 29, no. 1 (2014): 80 – 86.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/article/sustainable-training-strategy-for-improving-health-care-following-a-catastrophic-radiological-or-nuclear-incident/644F79C1E6AC889A8C197D7AD07BF6C6
Book Chapter
“Restless Strategy: Alfred Gray’s Philosophy of Warfighting,” with Thomas G. Mahnken, in The Legacy of American Naval Power: Reinvigorating Maritime Strategic Thought, An Anthology, ed. Paul Westermeyer, (Quantico, VA: Marine Corps University Press, 2019), 216 – 255.
https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/LegacyAmericanNavalPower_WEB2.pdf
Commentary and Other Publications
“How Might a War with North Korea End?” Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 14, 2017. http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/a-bradley-potter-column-how-might-a-war-with-north/article_e8aa7721-2d12-5aae-b390-d3f83167a63a.html
“The Center Cannot Hold: Continuity and Change in Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy,” with James Benkowski, War on the Rocks, November 1, 2017.
https://warontherocks.com/2017/11/the-center-cannot-hold-continuity-and-change-in-donald-trumps-foreign-policy/
“Thinking about a Policy-Oriented PhD in International Relations?” with Nathaniel Allen and Torrey Taussig, War on the Rocks, October 5, 2017.
https://warontherocks.com/2017/10/thinking-about-a-policy-oriented-phd-in-international-relations/
“History’s Guide to Contested Liberalism,” War on the Rocks, March 22, 2017. https://warontherocks.com/2017/03/historys-guide-to-contested-liberalism/
“Lessons on History and Statecraft from a Rocky Mountain Seminar,” with Lauren Dickey et al., War on the Rocks, August 9, 2016.
https://warontherocks.com/2016/08/lessons-on-history-and-statecraft-from-a-rocky-mountain-seminar/
“From the Halls of Power to the Ivory Tower: Recasting Relevance in International Relations,” Foreign Policy Institute Blog, June 2016.
http://www.fpi.sais-jhu.edu/#!From-the-Ivory-Tower-to-the-Halls-of-Power-Recasting-Relevance-in-International-Relations/c1qvb/5760a9d90cf235a69b220185
“It’s All About the Data: Responding to International Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Incidents,” with Julie Bentz and Daniel Blumenthal, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 70, no. 4 (July – August 2014): 57 – 68.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0096340214539117