Stephen Tankel Assoc Professor SIS - For Pol Global Sec
- Additional Positions at AU
- Degrees
- BS, Cornell University
MSc, London School of Economics
PhD, War Studies, King's College London - Bio
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Stephen Tankel is an associate professor at American University and an adjunct
senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He previously served as a
Senior Advisor at the Department of Defense. An expert on terrorism, counterterrorism, and security and military affairs in South Asia, Dr. Tankel frequently advises U.S. policymakers and members of the Intelligence Community on these issues. He has conducted field research in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, and the Balkans. Dr. Tankel is the author of numerous works, including With Us And Against Us: How America’s Partners Help and Hinder the War on Terror, and Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He is also a senior editor at War on the Rocks, associate editor of the Texas National Security Review, on the editorial boards of Terrorism and Political Violence, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, and a frequent media commentator.
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
Teaching
Spring 2025
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SIS-689 Foreign Pol: Theor Decisn Mkng
Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities
Media Appearances
Interviewed for a CNN.com article regarding Obama's speech and visit to Kabul. In this article he addresses the thorny issue of negotiating with the Taliban. .
Quoted in “Pakistan: A Militant Most Wanted” Financial Times. May 1, 2012.
Featured in an interview with the Washington Post “Pakistani militant Hafiz Mohammad Saed seeks protection from bounty hunters.” April 22, 2012.
Featured on a panel discussing the state of Al Qaeda. .
Quoted in WNYC article “Gillibrand, Vets Seek Faster Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan.” March 26, 2012.
Featured in an interview with WNYC about the U.S. presence if Afghanistan. .
Quoted in “Hearing in Congress on Baluchistan: Crossing the Rubicon or Political Theatre?” February 8, 2012..
AU Experts
Area of Expertise
terrorism, South Asia, transnational threats, Islamist militancy, U.S. foreign policy, U.S. defense policy, Algeria, Bangledesh, India, Lebanon, Pakistan, Balkans, Lashkar e Taiba, Asian and Pacific Security
Additional Information
Stephen Tankel is an assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University and a non-resident scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Tankel specializes in international security with a focus on political and military affairs in South Asia, transnational threats, Islamist militancy, and U.S. foreign and defense policies related to these issues. He has published widely on these topics and conducted field research on conflicts and militancy in Algeria, Bangladesh, India, Lebanon, Pakistan, and the Balkans. Columbia University Press published his first book, Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba, in summer 2011, and will publish his next one in 2015. Provisionally titled The Jihadist and the State, Professor Tankel’s second book explores the role of local states in, and the implications of jihadist-state dynamics for, U.S. counterterrorism efforts. In addition to his writing, Professor Tankel is on the editorial board of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and is a senior editor of the web magazine War on the Rocks. He is frequently asked to advice U.S. policymakers and practitioners on a range of security issues, and spent 2014 serving as a senior advisor in the Office of Asian and Pacific Security Affairs at the Department of Defense.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.