Stanford University political scientist and former U.S. defense policy adviser Colin Kahl will become the next faculty director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the university’s center for nonpartisan research, teaching, and policy engagement on international issues.

Kahl’s career spans academia and public service roles that have shaped U.S. foreign policy on critical security issues. He has served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, earning the Department of Defense’s highest civilian honors for his leadership and dedication to national security.

“Colin Kahl is an inspiring teacher and influential scholar. He has also served in senior positions in the United States government, guiding the nation’s diplomatic and defense strategy through multiple international crises,” said David Studdert, vice provost and dean of research. “This rare combination of academic chops and deep public service experience makes him exceptionally well-suited to lead an institute dedicated to interdisciplinary, nonpartisan, policy-relevant research and training in international affairs.”

“We live in an interesting and important time, and I am excited to be at FSI with people who want to make the world a better place,” Kahl said.

Kahl, who is the Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), will begin his appointment Jan. 1, 2026. Kahl succeeds Michael McFaul, who served as the Freeman Spogli Institute director since 2015.

“I am thrilled that Colin will be FSI’s next director,” said McFaul. "Colin is both a first-class academic and a former policymaker at the highest levels – the perfect combination for leading FSI. He has already made an indelible mark on our institute – advancing our scholarship, mentoring future leaders, and strengthening the bridge between Stanford and the policy world. FSI could not be in better hands.”

Perspective shaped by world events

Kahl joined FSI in 2017 after a career that has balanced academic research with national service. His scholarship focuses on international security and U.S. foreign and defense policy, with recent work examining the geopolitical implications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Kahl’s interest in world affairs began in 1989, while studying political science at the University of Michigan, just as the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War came to an end. He went on to earn a PhD in political science from Columbia University, where he examined the underlying causes of civil wars and state failure through case studies from around the world. That research was the basis of his first book, States, Scarcity, and Civil Strife in the Developing World (Princeton University Press, 2000).

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Kahl felt a strong calling to apply his academic training to public service. “I wanted to translate what I was studying in the academy to help America navigate this existentially perilous moment,” Kahl said.

Through a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellowship, he worked at the Pentagon in 2005 under the George W. Bush administration, where he studied the evolution of U.S. counterinsurgency practices in Iraq.

It was while doing that work that he “caught the bug” of wanting to continue serving his country. “Regardless of who's in power, the country needs perceptive, patriotic people to sign up to help keep the country safe,” Kahl said.

Kahl later served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East (2009-2011), where he worked under Secretary Robert Gates, who had been appointed by President Bush and retained by President Obama. For his service, Kahl received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.

Between government appointments, Kahl published numerous articles on U.S. national security and defense policy, including several reports for the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

He went on to serve as deputy assistant to President Obama and national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden (2014-2017), focusing more broadly on U.S. foreign policy and defense policy, including in the Middle East, where he examined nuclear proliferation and developed strategies to counter Iran’s nuclear program.

Most recently, Kahl served as under secretary of defense for policy (2021-2023), the Pentagon’s third-highest civilian post.

As the principal advisor to the secretary of defense for defense policy, Kahl played a critical role in formulating and coordinating national security policy within the Department of Defense. He oversaw the drafting of the 2022 National Defense Strategy, which aimed to mitigate China’s growing global influence and reinforce American leadership amid renewed great-power competition. He also helped secure more than $40 billion in U.S. security assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and directed the Pentagon’s continued efforts to defeat ISIS and dismantle its network in the Middle East.

In 2023, he received the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal from Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon’s highest civilian award.

Mission, and meeting the moment

Kahl’s approach to leadership, he said, is guided by a clear sense of mission.

Recalling his work in Washington, D.C., Kahl said: “We had a mission, and our mission was to keep the United States safe, help the United States be prosperous, and to help the United States remain free. I think those are things all Americans agree on. Our founding documents talk about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and we need to defend that.”

He has carried that same focus into his work at Stanford, where he most recently served as the faculty director of CISAC’s Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance. The program examines the global implications of digital innovation, including cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and how the United States and its allies can sustain their competitive edge in the global AI race.

As Kahl takes the helm at FSI, he plans to continue applying that purpose-driven mindset. In a time of renewed geopolitical competition and rapid technological change, he sees FSI as uniquely positioned to advance rigorous, nonpartisan scholarship that informs policy and addresses emerging threats to global security.

“FSI has a mission to do world-class, rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship that informs policy and to train the next generation of leaders who will make the world a better place,” Kahl said. “It’s really important to stay focused on achieving that mission.”

Before joining Stanford, Kahl taught at Georgetown University and the University of Minnesota, and he has held fellowship positions at Harvard University, the Council on Foreign Relations, CNAS, and the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and International Engagement.