Areas of Expertise: Counterterrorism; Irregular Warfare; Unconventional Warfare; Middle East & North Africa; Southeast Asia
Dr. Kim Cragin is the Deputy Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) and the Distinguished Fellow for Counterterrorism. Dr. Cragin’s primary responsibilities are to oversee and execute projects for senior leaders in the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, Office of the Secretary of War 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, she oversaw multiple projects 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. Dr. Cragin also was detailed as senior staff to the Congressionally-mandated 9/11 FBI Review Commission, deployed to Baghdad as an advisor to the Multi-National Force – Iraq, and 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. Dr. Cragin 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. Many of these studies have been released as RAND monographs, but Dr. Cragin 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. Dr. Cragin’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 War, as well as four achievement awards from the RAND Corporation, including the President’s Award, which is the highest honor given for impactful research. She studied Arabic at Birzeit University in the West Bank and Hebrew at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Dr. Cragin received her undergraduate degree from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Master's in Public Policy from Duke University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (Clare College) in the United Kingdom.
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Selected Publications
- "Foreign Terrorist Fighters: A Threat in Stasis," CTC Sentinel, Volume 18, Issue 11, November/December 2025.
- Cragin, R. Kim. “Confronting Irregular Warfare in the South China Sea,” Military Review, November-December 2024.
- “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.
- “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.
- “Metastases: Exploring the Impact of Foreign Fighters in Conflicts Abroad, Journal of Strategic Studies, online release November 2017.
- What Factors Cause Individuals to Reject Violent Extremism? Results of an Exploratory Analysis in the West Bank, (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation)
- “A Recent History of al-Qa’ida,” The Historical Journal, 67:3 (September 2014), pp. 803-824.
- 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, 2007).
- Terrorism and Development: Using Social and Economic Development to Inhibit a Resurgence of Terrorism (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2003).