Johns Hopkins SAIS to host “Civil-Military Relations Amid Domestic Crisis” webinar on June 18
MEDIA ADVISORY
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will host “Civil-Military Relations Amid Domestic Crisis,” a webinar taking place June 18 focused on the politicization of the U.S. military and urgent issues of civil-military relations in the current environment. The event is hosted by the school’s Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies.
Eliot A. Cohen, dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS; Mara Karlin, Associate Professor of the Practice of Strategic Studies and director of the school’s Strategic Studies program and Merrill Center for Strategic Studies; Paula Thornhill, Associate Professor of the Practice of Strategic Studies and associate director of the school’s Strategic Studies program; David Barno, Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies and Senior Fellow at the Merrill Center for Strategic Studies; and Nora Bensahel, Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies and Senior Fellow at the Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, will address implications of President Donald Trump's recent actions on U.S. national security, both domestically and abroad.
Speakers
Eliot A. Cohen
Dean, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Mara Karlin
Associate Professor of the Practice of Strategic Studies
Director, Strategic Studies and Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Paula Thornhill
Associate Professor of the Practice of Strategic Studies
Associate Director of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
David Barno
Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies
Senior Fellow, Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Nora Bensahel
Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies
Senior Fellow, Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Time and Date
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. EDT
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Registration
This webinar is open to the public and media, with registration.
Media Contacts
Miji Bell
Director of Communications and Media Relations
Johns Hopkins SAIS
+1 (202) 587-3205
[email protected]
Jason Lucas
Communications Manager
Johns Hopkins SAIS
+1 (202) 663-5620
[email protected]
About the Speakers
Eliot A. Cohen was appointed the ninth dean of the Johns Hopkins SAIS in 2019. Cohen has been a respected member of the school’s faculty since his appointment as the Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies in 1990. Prior to his appointment as dean, he founded and directed the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies and served as Executive Vice Dean. He has twice won the school’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Dean Cohen is a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned his Ph.D. in political science. He later served as Assistant Professor of Government and an Assistant Dean at Harvard. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the U.S. Army War College. Cohen served for two years as Counselor of the Department of State where he advised the Secretary on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia, as well as general strategic issues. For his leadership of The Gulf War Air Power Survey, he received the Air Force’s decoration for exceptional civilian service. He has also served as a member of the Defense Policy Advisory Board, the National Security Advisory Panel of the National Intelligence Council, on the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and on the Committee on Studies of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dean Cohen has authored several books, including “The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force” and “Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime.” He is a contributing editor at The Atlantic.
Mara Karlin is Director of Strategic Studies and an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS. She is also a nonresident senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. Karlin served in national security roles for five U.S. Secretaries of Defense, most recently, as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development. Karlin has been awarded Department of Defense Medals for Meritorious and Outstanding Public Service, among others. She is the author of “Building Militaries in Fragile States: Challenges for the United States.”
Paula Thornhill is Associate Director of Strategic Studies and Associate Professor of the Practice at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Prior to joining the school, she was a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation and director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program within RAND Project AIR FORCE. Thornhill retired from the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general in 2009. Her last assignment was as the commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Thornhill also served as the principal director for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as the Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the National War College, and as Special Assistant to the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Myers, U.S. Air Force. She is the author of “Demystifying the American Military: Institutions, Evolution, and Challenges Since 1789.”
David Barno is a Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies and Senior Fellow at the Merrill Center of Johns Hopkins SAIS. He is also a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks. A retired Lieutenant General, Barno completed a 30-year active duty Army career where he commanded at every level, serving as an infantry officer, Ranger, and paratrooper. He completed three tours in special operations forces, serving with Army Ranger battalions in combat during both the Panama and Grenada invasions. From 2003 to 2005, he was the overall commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Following his military career, Barno served for four years as the Director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and later spent nearly five years as a Senior Fellow and later Co-Director of the Responsible Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security.
Nora Bensahel is a Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies, Senior Fellow of the Philip Merrill Center at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks. She is also an Adjunct Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. She was previously a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the School of International Service at American University; a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Responsible Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security; and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, and currently serves on the Secretary of Defense’s Reserve Forces Policy Board, as well as the Steering Committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security.
Merrill Center for Strategic Studies
The Johns Hopkins SAIS Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies operates as a center for strategic thought and education. It explores the relationship between politics and the many kinds of military power — from the use of terror by small, non-state groups, to the threatened use of nuclear weapons — aiming to promote dialogue and innovative research on pressing national security issues.
Johns Hopkins SAIS
A division of Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues. For 75 years, Johns Hopkins SAIS has produced great leaders, thinkers, and practitioners of international relations. Public leaders and private sector executives alike seek the counsel of the faculty, whose ideas and research inform and shape policy. Johns Hopkins SAIS offers a global perspective across three campus locations: Bologna, Italy; Nanjing, China; and Washington, D.C. The school's interdisciplinary curriculum is strongly rooted in the study of international economics, international relations, and regional studies, preparing students to address multifaceted challenges in the world today.
For more information, visit sais.jhu.edu or on Twitter @SAISHopkins
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