Nikolas Kirrill Gvosdev is a
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n–
American international relations scholar. He is currently professor of
national security
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
studies at the U.S.
Naval War College
The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...
and the former
Editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
of the bi-monthly
foreign policy
Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
journal, ''
The National Interest
''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, ...
''. He writes as a specialist on
US foreign policy as well as international
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
as they affect
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and its neighbors. He currently serves as editor of the journal Orbis.
Biography
Gvosdev was born in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
to a family descended of
White Emigres. Gvosdev received his
D.Phil. as a
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Esta ...
at
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...
.
He worked as the
executive editor
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
and the
founding editor of ''
The National Interest
''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, ...
''. In 2005 he appointed the journal's now-defunct separate web edition, ''In The National Interest''. Upon leaving the editorship in 2008, he was succeeded by
Justine Rosenthal; he remains associated with the journal as a contributing editor. He has appeared as an analyst and a commentator on television and radio shows like
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
,
MSNBC
MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
,
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
,
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...
's Washington Journal,
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
and
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
.
Gvosdev lived in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and served as senior fellow for strategic studies at the
Nixon Center, and as an adjunct professor at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
and
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
until 2007. In 2008 he moved to
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
and started teaching at the
Naval War College
The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...
, where he is professor of national security affairs, holding the Captain Jerome E. Levy Chair in Economic Geography and National Security. He is married and has one son.
Gvosdev is a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, specifically as part of the Eurasia Program and the Program on National Security.
Along with
Dimitri K. Simes,
Anatol Lieven
Anatol Lieven (born 28 June 1960) is a British author, journalist, and policy analyst. He is currently a visiting professor at King's College London and senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
Background
Peter ...
, and
John Hulsman, Gvosdev is seen as one of the proponents of the "new realism" in foreign policy—one that acknowledges a greater role for values than traditional
realpolitik
''Realpolitik'' ( ; ) is the approach of conducting diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly following ideological, moral, or ethical premises. In this respect, ...
as espoused by
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
, but nonetheless puts a stress on setting priorities. He has also been one of the strongest proponents for engagement with Russia and has tended to view
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's government in a more positive light than most American commentators, characterizing his regime as "managed pluralism" rather than as an outright authoritarian state. Along with
Ray Takeyh, he was an early skeptic of the proposition that the
spread of democracy in the Middle East would bring pro-American governments to power.
Contributing to the anthology ''Our American Story'' (2019), Gvosdev addressed the possibility of a shared American narrative and focused on a sense of community, writing, "Shared participation in and celebration of the unfinished and ongoing American experiment is the best way to create and cement the bonds of fellowship and citizenship among Americans."
Since 2020, he has been cohost of the Doorstep podcast, an initiative of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. This is part of an effort to connect U.S. foreign policy with domestic concerns, as well as to explore new narratives for U.S. global engagement.
Books
* ''Imperial policies and perspectives towards Georgia, 1760–1819'' (St. Martin's Press in association with St. Antony's College, Oxford, 2000)
* ''Emperors and Elections: Reconciling the Orthodox Tradition with Modern Politics'' (Huntington, N.Y.: Troitsa Books, 2000)
* ''An examination of church-state relations in the Byzantine and Russian empires with an emphasis on ideology and models of interaction'' (Lewiston, N.Y.: E. Mellen Press, 2001)
* ''The Receding Shadow of the Prophet: The Rise and Fall of Political Islam'' (Praeger, 2004)
* ''Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Vectors and Sectors'' (CQ Press, 2013, with Christopher Marsh)
* ''US Foreign Policy and Defense Strategy'' (Georgetown University Press, 2014, with Derek Reveron and Mackubin Owens);
* ''Communitarian Foreign Policy: Amitai Etzioni's Vision'' (Transaction Publishers, 2015)
* ''US foreign policy and defense strategy: the evolution of an incidental superpower'' (Georgetown University Press, 2015; with Derek S. Reveron and Mackubin Thomas Owens)
* ''The Oxford Handbook of U.S. National Security'' (Oxford University Press, 2018; with Derek S. Reveron; John A. Cloud)
* ''Decision-Making in American Foreign Policy: Translating Theory into Practice'' (Cambridge University Press, 2019; with Jessica D. Blankshain, and David A. Cooper)
References
External links
Gvosdev's former blog*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gvosdev, Nikolas
American political scientists
American magazine editors
Russian emigrants to the United States
American Rhodes Scholars
Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford
1969 births
Living people
Georgetown University faculty
Naval War College faculty
George Washington University faculty
Harvard Extension School faculty