Abraham Denmark

Drawing on my experience as a senior government official and analyst, I currently serve as Vice President of Programs and Director of Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars, where I oversee all aspects of the Center’s outstanding program teams to inform and shape the public debate on the state of international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.

In 2021, I authored U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century: Empowering Allies and Partners,published by Columbia University Press. I have testified numerous times before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and my commentary has been featured in several major media outlets, including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

From 2015 through 2017, I served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, where I advised the Secretary of Defense and other senior U.S. government leaders on a broad set of security issues related to East Asia and managed a broad variety of defense initiatives and activities across the region. Before joining the Pentagon, I was a Senior Vice President at the National Bureau of Asian Research, where I was the co-editor of the landmark Strategic Asia book series and at the Center for a New American Security.

In January 2017, I received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. I have also received the order of the Resplendent Banner from the Republic of China (Taiwan), and was made an Honorary Rear Admiral in the Navy of the Republic of Korea. I was named a 21st Century Leader by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and am a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations.

A Colorado native, I received an M.A. from the University of Denver Korbel School for International Studies, and a B.A. with Honors from the University of Northern Colorado. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Kings College London, writing a dissertation on the history of great power competition in the strategic periphery.