Rebecca Patterson

Rebecca Patterson is Director of the Center for Security Studies and the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University and Professor of the Practice of International Affairs in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. A retired U.S. Army officer, she previously served in overseas assignments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Thailand, and South Korea in addition to senior policy roles at the U.S. Department of State, including as Deputy Director in the Office of Peace Operations, Sanctions, and Counterterrorism, where she worked on U.S. policy toward UN peacekeeping and international security operations. She has also worked with NATO and the World Bank. Her research and teaching focus on irregular warfare, strategic competition, peace operations, and national security policy. Dr. Patterson is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Select publications include Winning Without Fighting, Military Strategy in the 21st Century, The Challenge of Nation-Building: Implementing Effective Innovation in the U.S. Army From World War II to the Iraq War and co-author of Malign Influence Operations: Psychology, Law, and Strategy (forthcoming, Routledge, 2027).