Areas of Expertise: Counterterrorism; Irregular Warfare; Unconventional Warfare; Middle East & North Africa; Southeast Asia
Dr. Kim Cragin is the Director of the National Defense University’s Center for Strategy and Military Power (CSMP) and the Distinguished Fellow for Counterterrorism. Kim’s primary responsibilities are to oversee and execute projects for senior leaders in the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, Office of the Secretary of Defense and/or Services. She also manages the INSS Detailee Program and teaches periodically at the College of International Security Affairs.
Prior to joining NDU, Dr. Cragin was a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. While at RAND, Kim oversaw multipleprojects every year, including studies related to counterterrorism, unconventional warfare, proxy warfare, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, Hamas, Hizballah, foreign terrorist fighters, and technology transfers between non-state actors, amongst others. These studies resulted in peer-reviewed monographs published by the RAND Corporation (see selected examples below). Dr. Cragin also was detailed as senior staff to the Congressionally-mandated 9/11 FBI Review Commission, deployed to Baghdad and served as an advisor to the Multi-National Force – Iraq, and participated as research staff in the Congressionally-mandated Gilmore Commission.
Dr. Cragin’s mixed methods approach to research has allowed her to gain extensive experience in conducting and overseeing field studies in conflict zones. Kim has conducted field research in Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Indonesia, the southern Philippines, southern Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and northwest China. Dr. Cragin also has managed local teams executing interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys in Yemen, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Malaysia, southern Thailand, southern Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States. Many of these studies have been released as RAND monographs, but Kim also has published her research in academic journals, such as Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Political Violence and Terrorism, Defence Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, and The Historical Journal. She is a recognized expert on counterterrorism and has been invited to testify before Congress on multiple occasions. Kim’s commentary, more often than not, can be found on the Lawfare Blog.
Dr. Cragin has received multiple achievement awards for her work. These include the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award, and the Joint Civilian Commendation Medal from the Department of Defense as well as four achievement awards from the RAND Corporation, including the President’s Award, which is the highest honor given for impactful research. Kim is a recipient of the Sherman Emerging Scholar Award, Boren Fellowship, and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. She studied Arabic at Birzeit University in the West Bank and Hebrew at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Dr. Cragin received her undergraduate degree (honors) from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge (Clare College) in the United Kingdom.
Selected Publications
- 2024. Cragin, R. Kim. “Confronting Irregular Warfare in the South China Sea,” Military Review, November-December 2024.
- 2024. Cragin, R. Kim. “The Elusive Promise of Over-the-Horizon Counterterrorism,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, published online 27 June 2024.
- 2020. “Tactical Partnerships for Strategic Effects: Recent Experiences of US Forces Working By, With, and Through Surrogates in Syria and Libya,” Defense Studies, online release August 2020.
- 2019. “Preventing the Next Wave of Foreign Terrorist Fighters: Lessons Learned from the Experiences of Algeria and Tunisia, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, online release February 2019.
- 2017. “Metastases: Exploring the Impact of Foreign Fighters in Conflicts Abroad,” Journal of Strategic Studies, online release November 2017.
- 2016. What Factors Cause Individuals to Reject Violent Extremism? Results of an Exploratory Analysis in the West Bank, (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation)
- 2014. “A Recent History of al-Qa’ida,” The Historical Journal, 67:3 (September 2014), pp. 803-824.
- 2009. Women as Terrorists: Mothers, Recruiters and Martyrs, (New York: Praeger)
- 2007. Sharing the Dragon’s Teeth: Terrorist Groups and the Exchange of New Technologies (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation).
- 2003. Terrorism and Development: Using Social and Economic Development to Inhibit a Resurgence of Terrorism (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation).