Raphael “Rafi” Cohen is the director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program in Project AIR FORCE at the RAND Corporation, and a senior political scientist for Rand. He works on a broad range of defense and foreign policy issues, including defense strategy and force planning, Middle East and European security and civil-military relations.
Cohen previously held research fellowships at the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute and the National Defense University’s Center for Complex Operations. He has written for a variety of forums, including the Journal of Strategic Studies, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, Orbis, Fox News, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, The National Interest and other publications. He also served as a staffer on the Congressionally-appointed 2018 National Defense Strategy Commission.
A military intelligence branched lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Cohen has held a variety of command and staff positions in both the active and reserve components, including during two combat tours in Iraq from 2005 to 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008. He holds a B.A. magna cum laude in government from Harvard University, and an M.A. in security studies and Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University, where he is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor for the Center for Security Studies.