Areas of Expertise: Security Cooperation; Counter-terrorism; Defense Industrial Base
Dr. Bryce Loidolt is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University. Prior to joining NDU, he was a Defense Analyst at the RAND Corporation. Dr. Loidolt’s current work examines topics ranging from crisis-era security assistance and munitions surges to measure-countermeasure competitions during conflicts. He has been detailed to provide analytic support to multiple operational military commands and has also conducted field research in Germany, Poland, Thailand, Afghanistan, Yemen, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates. Beyond his time in the field, Dr. Loidolt has served on and led teams executing studies to support a variety of senior Department of Defense stakeholders, to include the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of War.
Dr. Loidolt has twice received the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Medal from the Joint Staff in recognition of his contributions to the Department of Defense.
Selected Publications
Monographs and Book Chapters
- Bryce Loidolt et al., “Rogues, Disrupters, and Spoilers in an Era of Great Power Competition,” in Tom Lynch ed., Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition, (Washington, DC: NDU Press 2020).
- Bryce Loidolt et al., “Competing Visions and Actions by China, Russia, and the United States in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Arctic,” in Tom Lynch ed., Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition, (Washington, DC: NDU Press 2020).
- Eric Robinson, Kathleen Frier, Kim Cragin, Melissa Bradley, Daniel Egel, Bryce Loidolt, and Paul Streinberg, What Factors Cause Individuals to Reject Violent Extremism in Yemen? (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2017).
- Ben Connable, Jason Campbell, Bryce Loidolt, and Gail Fisher, Assessing Freedom of Movement for Counterinsurgency Campaigns, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2012).
- Austin Long, Stephanie Pezard, Bryce Loidolt, and Todd Helmus, Locals Rule: Historical Lessons for Creating Local Defense Forces for Afghanistan and Beyond, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2012).
- Barak A. Salmoni, Bryce Loidolt, and Madeleine Wells, Regime and Periphery in Northern Yemen: the Huthi Phenomenon, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2010).
Refereed Journal Articles
- Bryce Loidolt, "Ukraine, the U.S. Defense Industiral Base, adn the Elusive Crisis-Era Munitions Production Surge, Joint Force Quarterly 119, October 2025.
- Bryce Loidolt, “Lethal Targeting and Adaptation Failure in Terrorist Groups,” Security Studies 33, No. 2 (2024): 224-253.
- Bryce Loidolt, “How the al-Qaeda-Taliban Alliance Survived,” Survival (2022):
- Bryce Loidolt, “Were Drone Strikes Effective? Evaluating Lethal Targeting through Captured al-Qaeda Records,” Texas National Security Review 5. No. 2 (2022): 54-79.
- Bryce Loidolt, “Al-Qaeda’s Iran Dilemma: Evidence from the Abbottabad Records,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2020): 1-28.
- Bryce Loidolt and Quinn Mecham, “Parliamentary Opposition under Hybrid Regimes: Evidence from Egypt,” Legislative Studies Quarterly 41, no. 4 (2016): 997-1022.
- Brian A. Jackson and Bryce Loidolt. “Considering al-Qa‘ida's Innovation Doctrine: From Strategic Texts to ‘Innovation in Practice,’” Terrorism and Political Violence 25, no. 2 (2013): 284-310.
- Bryce Loidolt, “Managing the Global and Local: The Dual Agendas of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 34, no. 2 (2011): 102-123.
Commentary and Research Essays
- Bryce Loidolt, “Managed Risks, Managed Expectations: How Far Can Targeted Killing get the United States in Afghanistan?,” War on the Rocks, May 18, 2021.
- Bryce Loidolt, “Reconsidering al-Qaeda-Iranian Cooperation,” War on the Rocks, February 17, 2021.
- Bryce Loidolt, “Iranian Resources and Shia Militant Cohesion: Insights from the Khazali Papers,” CTC Sentinel, West Point Combating Terrorism Center, January 2019.
- Bryce Loidolt and COL Ed Ballanco, “If We Want Security Force Assistance Missions to Succeed, Give Advisers Control of the Purse Strings,” Modern War Institute War Room, October 2018.