Thomas F. Lynch III

Distinguished Research Fellow, CSR

Lynch III, Thomas F.

Areas of Expertise:  Asia and the Indo-Pacific (South and Central Asia); Middle East and North Africa (Gulf Arab States); Great Power Competition (GPC); Counter-terrorism

Dr. Thomas F. Lynch III is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) at the Institute of National Strategic Studies (INSS) of the National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Lynch researches, writes, lectures, teaches, and organizes workshops and conferences for Department of Defense customers on the topics of Great Power Competition (GPC) & geopolitics, India’s strategic rise, Afghanistan-Pakistan & wider South Asia, the Gulf Arab States, and the past & future trajectory of radical Islam. His primary ongoing research is focused on GPC and on India’s strategic rise and implications for Indo-Pacific security and stability. Dr. Lynch has published three books including as editor of Strategic Assessment 2020: The Into a New Era of Great Power Competition (NDU Press, October 2020) He also has published more than a dozen book chapters and thirty feature monographs and journal articles.

Dr. Lynch joined INSS after a 28 year career in the active duty U.S. Army, serving in a variety of command and staff positions as an armor/cavalry officer and as a senior level politico-military analyst including as a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Deputy Director of the Chairman’s Advisory & Initiatives Group; Commander of the U.S. Army War Theater Support Group in Doha, Qatar; Director of the Advisory Group for the Commander, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM); and Military Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan.

Dr. Lynch is a regular multi-media analyst and commentator on national and international programs. He is a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) and a Masters (M.A.) & Ph.D. in International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

Selected Publications

Books:

  • Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition. Thomas F. Lynch III ed. (Washington, D.C.: NDU-Press, 2020)
  • Military Factors and Conventional Arms Control: The Impact of Technology and Doctrine Upon Conventional Military Offensiveness and Arms Control. (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press Dissertation Service, 1995).
  • Understanding International Relations: The Value of Alternative Lenses. Thomas F. Lynch III, Asa Clark & Ricky Waddell eds. (New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 1993)

Book Chapters:   

Articles:

Monographs:

Op-Eds & Podcasts:

CSR