National Security & Sino-American Technology Competition
Join the next generation of East Asia strategists and study US-China technology competition.
For Young Professionals & Advanced Students.
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Daniel Blumenthal
Daniel Blumenthal is the Director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on East Asian security issues and Sino-American relations. Mr. Blumenthal has both served in and advised the U.S. government on China issues for over a decade.
Emily de la Bruyère
Emily de La Bruyère is a senior fellow at FDD with a focus on China policy. She has pioneered novel data collection and analysis tools tailored to Beijing’s strategic and institutional structures. Her work was the first Western analysis to document Beijing’s China Standards 2035 national plan. Ms. de La Bruyère is a co-founder of Horizon Advisory, a consulting firm focused on the implications of China’s competitive approach to geopolitics.
Amy Chang
Amy Chang is the Head of Client Intelligence & Strategic Engagement within Global Cybersecurity at JPMorgan Chase & Co, where she serves as an important conduit between the financial sector, U.S. government partners, and the intelligence community. She is also an Officer in the Navy Reserve. Ms. Chang is bilingual in Mandarin with extensive travel experience in Asia.
Robbie Diamond
Robbie Diamond is the Founder, President and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), which unites prominent military and business leaders to develop and advocate for policies that improve America’s energy security. Mr. Diamond is also the President and CEO of the Electrification Coalition, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group of business leaders committed to promoting policies and actions that facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale in order to combat the economic, environmental, and national security dangers caused by the nation’s dependence on petroleum. Prior to his roles with SAFE and the Electrification Coalition, Diamond served as Deputy Director of Community Outreach on Senator Joe Lieberman’s 2004 presidential campaign.
Erica Downs
Erica Downs is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, focusing on Chinese energy markets and geopolitics. She has over 15 years of experience working in the public and non-profit sectors. She previously worked as a senior research scientist in the China Studies program of the CNA Corporation, a senior analyst in the Asia practice at Eurasia Group, a fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, an energy analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, and a lecturer at the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing, China.
Mackenzie Eaglen
Mackenzie Eaglen is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she works on defense strategy, defense budgets, and military readiness. Before joining AEI, Ms. Eaglen worked on defense issues in the House of Representatives, in the US Senate, and at the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Joint Staff.
Jimmy Goodrich
Jimmy Goodrich is the Vice President for Global Policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). He leads SIA’s global policy team, working to advance SIA’s international competitiveness, trade, supply chain, and China policy agenda. Mr. Goodrich is a member of the Executive Committee for Beijing-based U.S. information Technology Office (USITO), where he represents SIA in his capacity.
Katherine Koleski
Katherine Koleski is a Program Analyst at the Defense Innovation Unit, where she assesses the impact of proposed U.S. policy, regulations, and statutes on the Defense Innovation Unit and the dual-use innovation ecosystem. Prior to this role, she was a Lead Business Analyst at JAB Innovation Solutions. Ms. Koleski previously served as the Research Director for the Research Working Group and a Policy Analyst for the Economic & Trade team at the congressionally-created U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission (USCC). She has advanced proficiency in both Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.
James Mulvenon
James Mulvenon is general manager of SOS International’s Special Programs Division. A Chinese linguist and a specialist on the Chinese military, he is a leading international expert on Chinese cyber and espionage issues.
Derek M. Scissors
Derek M. Scissors is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on the Chinese and Indian economies and on US economic relations with Asia. He is concurrently chief economist of the China Beige Book.
LTG (Ret.) John Shanahan
Lt. Gen. John N.T. “Jack” Shanahan served as the inaugural Director for the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center at the U.S. Department of Defense. Lt. Gen. Shanahan was responsible for accelerating the delivery of AI-enabled capabilities, scaling the department-wide impact of AI, and synchronizing AI activities to expand joint force advantages.
Matt Turpin
Matthew Turpin is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he specializes in U.S. policy toward the People’s Republic of China, economic statecraft, and technology innovation. He is also a senior advisor at Palantir Technologies.
Vance Serchuk
Vance Serchuk is Executive Director of the KKR Global Institute and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Serchuk served for six years as the senior national security advisor to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut).
Greg Weiner
Greg Weiner is associate professor of Political Science, founding director of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Center for Scholarship and Statesmanship, and provost at Assumption College. He is the author of American Burke: The Uncommon Liberalism of Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Bryan Garsten
Bryan Garsten is Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He writes on questions about political rhetoric and deliberation, the meaning of representative government, the relationship of politics and religion, and the place of emotions in political life.
Flagg Taylor
Flagg Taylor is an Associate Professor of Government at Skidmore College. He is editor most recently of The Long Night of the Watchman: Essays by Václav Benda, 1977–1989. He is currently writing a book on Czech dissent in the 1970s and 1980s.
Jenna Silber Storey
Jenna Silber Storey is Assistant Professor in Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. Her research and writing is focused on the relation of politics and theology in the work of Carl Schmitt and Pierre Manent.
Daniel DiSalvo
Daniel DiSalvo is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute’s Center for State and Local Leadership and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at The City College of New York-CUNY. His scholarship focuses on American political parties, elections, labor unions, state government, and public policy.
Martha Bayles
Martha Bayles is an Associate Professor of Humanities at Boston College, where she teaches a year-long course titled, “From Homer to Dante” and various senior seminars. Her research centers around popular culture and cultural history. She has previously served as a lecturer at Harvard University and Claremont McKenna College.
Christian Brose
Christian Brose is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Head of Strategy at Anduril Industries, prior to which he served as staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was also responsible for leading the production, negotiation, and passage of four National Defense Authorization Acts, which set policy and authorized spending for all U.S. national defense activities.
Matthew Kroenig
Matthew Kroenig is a Professor in the Department of Government and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. A 2019 study in Perspectives on Politics ranked him as one of the top 25 most-cited political scientists of his generation. He has served in several positions in the U.S. Department of Defense and the intelligence community in the Bush and Obama administrations.
H.R. McMaster
H. R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Previously, he served as the 26th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs and as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for 34 years before retiring as a Lieutenant General. He is author of Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World.
Matthew Continetti
Matthew Continetti is resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Prior to joining AEI, he was Editor in Chief of the Washington Free Beacon. His articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
Vickie Sullivan
Vickie Sullivan is the Cornelia M. Jackson Professor of Political Science and teaches and studies political thought and philosophy. She also maintains teaching and research interests in politics and literature. She has published extensively on Montesquieu and Machiavelli and is the co-editor of Shakespeare’s Political Pageant.
Jakub J. Grygiel
Jakub Grygiel is an Associate Professor at the Catholic University of America. From 2017–18, he was a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State. His most recent book is Return of the Barbarians: Confronting Non-State Actors from Ancient Rome to the Present.
Vance Serchuk
Vance Serchuk is Executive Director of the KKR Global Institute and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Serchuk served for six years as the senior national security advisor to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut).
Ryan P. Hanley
Ryan Patrick Hanley is Professor of Political Science at Boston College. His research in the history of political philosophy focuses on the Enlightenment. He is the author of Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life and Love’s Enlightenment: Rethinking Charity in Modernity.
Jacob Howland
Jacob Howland is McFarlin Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Tulsa. He has written about Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon, Kierkegaard, the Talmud, the Holocaust, ideological tyranny, and other subjects. His most recent book is Glaucon’s Fate: History, Myth, and Character in Plato’s Republic.
Thomas Merrill
Thomas Merrill is an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He is the author of Hume and the Politics of Enlightenment. He is also the co-editor of three edited volumes, including The Political Thought of the Civil War.
Current Position
Foreign Policy Analyst
“Part of being effective on the Hill and on presidential campaigns is understanding past leaders and what they’ve done well. The Hertog program I did was focused on leaders and examining, with a critical eye what they’ve done well, what they did in regard to communications, building allies, working with other countries—principles that are timeless.”
Foreign Policy Analyst
U.S. Department of State; Office of Representative Mike Pompeo; Facebook
Stanford University, Peking University, London School of Economics
Reagan Hedlund has served in multiple foreign policy positions both in the U.S. and abroad, including stints with the House of Representatives, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and various political campaigns. She participated in Hertog’s “Great Figures of the 20th Century” Weekend Seminars in Winter 2016, with sessions on Winston Churchill, David Ben-Gurion, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher.
I do foreign policy, and I want to continue to stay involved in politics. Part of being effective on the Hill and on presidential campaigns is understanding past leaders and what they’ve done well. The Hertog program I did was focused on leaders and examining, with a critical eye but also positive themes, domestic and foreign leaders. What they’ve done well, what they did in regard to communications, building allies, working with other countries—principles that are timeless.
It was also a great way to meet other like-minded and serious people in DC and get to know some of the instructors. I feel like I’ll be friends with people from Hertog for a very long time.
It’s a chance to learn in a way that is rare for professionals, but also rare in a university setting. Due to the caliber of the instructors and the intense, high level of discussion, it feels like you’re back in college. But the things you’re talking about are elevated because you’ve had additional professional experience, and you’re speaking with both theleading expert on these issues and with people who have had some sort of experience with that same topic. It’s not as though the students just did their reading for class and showed up; they’re personally invested. So it’s kind of like college on steroids.
There is a lack of ability and time to dig into issues, particularly those that are most important for our country. The principles that we discussed in each of the “Great Figures” seminars are still applicable today. There were many times when the discussion turned from talking about how a certain leader dealt with a particular issue—whether it was nativism or trade or a deficit—to how we’re dealing with those concerns today.
Hertog is also a way to distinguish yourself. I’m on the nerd spectrum; I loved college, and I loved grad school. There are book events and things of that nature here in DC, but there’s a lack of opportunities to really dig into these important issues in an academic setting.
Hopefully, we’ll have a Republican president then, and I’d like to be a foreign policy advisor for whoever that is!
Foreign Policy Analyst
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Brookings Institution, Fulbright Grantee, University of Durham (UK)
Pomona College
Alexandra (“Zan”) Gutowski has traveled throughout the Middle East, honing her Arabic language skills, by way of scholarships from the Fulbright Program and the Department of Defense. An alumna of the War Studies Program and Advanced Institutes, Zan has worked for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
One of my professors at Pomona, former Ambassador Cameron Munter, was teaching a course on international crises. He recommended that I apply to the War Studies Program. Following up on my experience at War Studies with “Lessons of the Iraq War” was simply phenomenal. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a course where I learned so much so quickly or been with such committed peers.
What keeps bringing me back to Hertog Programs is the remarkable learning environment. Since the nature of the Programs is so intense, you really get to know people quickly. Everyone is willing to get into difficult discussions about challenging issues because there is already a base of respect among the participants. I don’t know of another program where I could get such a high caliber of instruction on such complex issues.
I studied international relations and Arabic as an undergrad, and went abroad to Oman and Jordan on government scholarships. Directly after doing War Studies, I went to Doha through the Georgetown Qatar Scholarship Program. Right now, I’m in an interdisciplinary Master’s program in defense, development, and diplomacy through a Fulbright Scholarship in the UK.
I do not think I would’ve gotten into my Master’s program, nor would I be doing as well as I am, without the War Studies Program. Before War Studies, I had a bit of a sense of the diplomacy and development side of U.S. foreign policy, but I didn’t even have the vocabulary or any knowledge of the major texts and discussions in the defense realm. My first experience with the Hertog Foundation, and every follow-up course, has given me the vocabulary, background, theoretical knowledge, and confidence to engage these subjects.
There were definitely moments when developing my knowledge of defense sort of felt like learning a foreign language. During War Studies, we visited JCS Chairman General Dempsey, and Generals McChrystal and Petraeus came in to speak with us. We all had these incredibly interesting conversations about where warfare is going, and it dawned on me that even a week prior I wouldn’t have been able to participate in discussions like that because I lacked any background in the subject. To so quickly see the return on investment in starting to develop a language for discussing war was astonishing.
There is a larger flaw in the American education system at the moment, where post-Vietnam, we’re very quick to just say, “War: What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” But the bottom line is that our country still goes to war. So let’s go to war smarter, only in the cases where we have to. Let’s have a public discussion that goes beyond the dichotomy of war: good or bad. The Hertog Foundation does a great job of filling in those gaps and moving us towards a better way of approaching these issues as a nation.
I think Hertog Programs are very empowering. One of my hesitations going in was that because the Hertog instructors are so involved in policy and have very strong political opinions, they would be pushing a certain viewpoint on the participants—that’s not what I’ve found at all.
One of the main reasons I keep coming back is that even with these extremely intellectual and experienced people leading the courses, you can have a different opinion. What they teach you to do is to develop a method to argue your own position very well. I’ve learned to put forth whatever political opinions I have, consider them rigorously, and defend them intellectually.
Definitely. There are plenty of students who have a great theoretical background in the issues, but without knowing case studies of military history and working through a conflict decision point by decision point, you’ll always be at the hands of someone else’s analysis. Hertog Programs give you the opportunity to not just learn theories, but test them. Having that much raw material of historical knowledge allows you to craft arguments for yourself and not just take someone’s analysis at face value.
The “Lessons of the Iraq War” Institute is a great example. It’s easy to have a sound-bite understanding of that conflict without really thinking through all the decisions, the evidence, the sequence of events, and the actual outcomes of certain policies as that war unfolded. The Institute deepened our knowledge of the Iraq War to such a degree where it’s impossible to walk away without a fully formed analysis of your own.
I’d really like to be involved on the civilian side of defense policy. I’m very committed to public service. I want to have a career where I’m intellectually stimulated, but also contributing to our society. I’ve been extremely fortunate in that the U.S. government has sent me all over the Middle East to learn Arabic on scholarships, so I’m eager to give back. I want to help shape U.S. policy in such a way that promotes both our national security and a positive image for America in the world.
Senior Research Specialist, Gartner | MA Candidate in Security Studies, Georgetown University
Data Manager, Chicago Project on Security and Threats
University of Chicago, 2019
Jakob Urda is an alum of the War Studies Program, and has since returned for subsequent Hertog programs as a young professional. After a course with Dan Blumenthal, he and Dan worked together to research and write an essay on China’s economic and military power. Jakob is a senior research specialist at Gartner, a consultancy which studies emerging technologies. He is also an MA candidate in Security Studies at Georgetown University.
One of my professors at the University of Chicago, Robert Pape, recommended I apply to the War Studies program. The University of Chicago Scholarship Office said that based on my interests in great power politics and political thought that the War Studies program would be a strong fit.
Subsequently, I participated in the Hertog Seminar on “Nixon in China” and the Security and Strategy Seminar Series on China. I have also attended War Studies Advanced Courses such as “Civil Military Relations” and “Russian Hybrid Warfare.” I could not have asked for a better experience in these programs. They pushed me to develop the rigor of my ideas and built my personal network of like-minded young professionals.
I studied political science at the University of Chicago with a special focus on the foreign policy strategy of the late Hapsburg monarchy. One of my most formative experiences was being sent to the NATO Center of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism as an instructor for a weeklong program to bring social science research into the discussion with security practitioners. It convinced me that I want to continue to operate at the nexus of research and security.
Hertog programs have been instrumental in my professional development. The War Studies and China programs sharpened my ambitions and gave me analytical tools to succeed in my work and school environments.
The War Studies Program took me beyond being a foreign policy hobbyist. The War Studies Program conducts a holistic discussion of the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war. From close readings of theory of war to simulated debates over post-war doctrinal evolution, students leave with a deeper understanding of the concepts at work.
What most stood out to me was the War Studies instructors’ uncompromising approach to intellectual honesty. Every idea would be subject to intense scrutiny and every theory would be applied to unusual and difficult test cases. We discussed what Clausewitz would say about the Gulf War air campaign or the Russian Deep Battle doctrine. In subsequent experiences in school and work, I have had to work with similar frameworks and I always go back to the approaches taught in the War Studies Program.
The Hertog programs have helped more than anything else to keep me sharp and critical. It is all too easy to slip into comfortable opinions and routines, but the Hertog classes consistently force me to engage with new and diverging viewpoints and push me out of my comfort zone. The ability to engage with such an intelligent student body on such important issues is unparalleled.
Absolutely. My impression is that while many people are nominally interested in foreign policy and security studies issues, they are limited by resources which only scrape the surface. Hertog programs are unique in their ability to drive students deeper into these important topics.
The “Nixon and China” class I took under Dan Blumenthal is a great example of Hertog’s value. Instead of laying out a single viewpoint about a difficult issue, the class used a primary-source focus which forced students to develop their own opinions. Reading documents such as Kissinger’s transcripts and Nixon’s op-eds makes clear the enormous complexity of the decisions involved. For a generation of young people interested in participating in similarly momentous challenges, this is an invaluable experience.
I want blend my security studies and technology policy backgrounds to work on America’s technology competition with China. One lesson that Hertog teaches you is that competition has many faces and changes form throughout history. Today, it seems that technology competition will be a key foreign policy issue which spans political, economic, and military domains. I would like to work for a US government body such as CFIUS, BIS, or OSTP to help America design a technology strategy which protects our core national interests.
Policy Advisor, Office of Senator Marco Rubio
Office of Congressman Ralph Hall
Abilene Christian University
Caleb Orr completed his degree at Abilene Christian University while also serving as an intern and later legislative correspondent in the office of Senator Marco Rubio. Caleb participated in Hertog’s “Great Figures of the 20th Century” Weekend Seminars series, with sessions on Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and David Ben-Gurion.
Working on Capitol Hill is all about keeping in touch with what other members of Congress are doing and partnering with them based on their expertise and abilities. So getting to know other Hill staff from Hertog, but also people in the think-tank community has been very helpful in connecting me to those resources and being able to serve Senator Rubio better as a staffer.
One-hundred percent. It’s a great entryway into the world of DC. Hertog programs provide access points into Capitol Hill and the academic community in ways that you don’t get at universities across America.
With the Weekend Seminars, the Foundation brought in some of the most well-known experts to lead seminars about each of these leaders. The ability to really have an intensive session over a weekend where you’re spending time with these scholars—in an academic setting, but also over dinner or drinks—really allowed you to get to know them as people, which made them all the more effective in conveying the subject matter. It was interesting to take that much of a deep dive into world leaders. To explore all the ins and outs, both the good and the bad of their characters, was helpful in seeing how the same traits that produce epic achievements can also lead to moral failures.
Hertog Foundation programs bring the kind of education that you expect at an elite university, combined with a grounding in the civilizational values that America was founded on and made us able to produce freedom, order, and prosperity. As a result of that, students are able to come together in an environment where you’re with many smart people from different fields and learn from one another.
It really is remarkable how vibrant the alumni community is and how much I’ve stayed in contact with people I met at Hertog. I think that’s unique, even when compared to other DC fellowship programs I’ve done. In fact, I’ve started to meet up with two other Hertog alumni about every other week to get steak dinners and just talk politics.
I want to be promoting the kind of human flourishing that I learned about at Hertog – ordered liberty, the American family, and American leadership. I want to be working for the first “reformicon” president in the White House.
Manager - Public Equity, Gerson Lehrman Group
University of Oxford, The White House, 2013 Truman Scholar
Villanova University
Stefan Johnson has worked in the White House and been a community leader in his hometown of Philadelphia. Stefan currently works for the Gerson Lehrman Group.
I heard about the Hertog Foundation through Dr. Daniel Mark, one of my professors of Political Science at Villanova University. I applied because I thought Hertog would help me understand how theory and practice complement one another. I have had many political experiences, which might be called ‘practical,’ but previously did not have a solid foundation in the history of Western political thought. The opportunity to read canonical texts in the context of contemporary political discourse is what attracted me.
The Political Studies Program provided me with grounding in not only the theoretical aspects of how our institutions came to be, but also in the practical aspects of how they currently function. I read important thinkers such as Aristotle, Machiavelli, and de Tocqueville, while also placing these readings within the context of contemporary public policy, such as American foreign and domestic policy. On top of our seminar classes, we enjoyed weekly lectures and events with accomplished scholars, like Harvey Mansfield, and practitioners, like Congressman (now Senator) Tom Cotton.
I had many of the most intellectually stimulating conversations in my life with my peers at Hertog—both regarding the texts we read in class and about the issues of the day.
The Political Studies Program offers something that is overlooked in academia today: intellectual diversity. The Program truly attracts students from across the political spectrum, and that is something incredibly unique to Hertog.
The study of politics is critical for all people, regardless of someone’s interests or vocation. One of my friends from the program is a Physics major at Princeton, and we both agreed that the knowledge of political institutions is essential to human flourishing. Political ideas propel our republic forward.
I would recommend Hertog to anyone, especially folks who are interested in public service. During my junior year of college I had the opportunity to win the Truman Scholarship, which is awarded to students who have demonstrated leadership potential and a commitment to public service. After doing Political Studies I went back to the Truman people and said, “We’ve got to get more of our Scholars over to the Hertog Political Studies Program. It’s an incredible opportunity to learn about civic life, how to give back to one’s community and ultimately how to be a more well-rounded person.”
Life is very interesting; you never know where you’re going to end up. I helped organize the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, an event which worked to highlight the important role of the family on a global scale. I never thought I’d help prepare for a papal visit to my hometown—it’s so hard to know what life with throw at you. But in 10 years, I hope to be in a position where I can give back to my community, especially on a local level.
Do you know a student or colleague who would benefit from one of our programs? Applicants may apply directly to our programs, but nominations are helpful for reaching and selecting great participants. Nominate a potential applicant by submitting their name, email address, and a brief description of their abilities and interest in the study of politics and policy. Program staff will follow up with an email to the nominee mentioning your nomination and offering information on how to apply.
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