Stephen J. Flanagan is a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Washington.  His research interests include U.S. defense strategy, alliance and partnership relations in Europe/Eurasia, strategic deterrence, and outer space security. Flanagan served in several senior positions in the U.S. government over the past four decades including: at the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Defense Policy (2013-15) and for Central and Eastern Europe (1997-99); National Intelligence Officer for Europe; Associate Director and Member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff; and Professional Staff Member, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He also held senior research and faculty positions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, National Defense University, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He served as the lead advisor to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in her capacity as Chair of the Group of Experts that developed the foundation for NATO’s Strategic Concept.  Flanagan has published six books and many reports and journal articles and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned an A.B. from Columbia Univ. and a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School, Tufts Univ.