Kori Schake

Biography: 

Dr. Kori Schake is the Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). She was a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution and is the editor, with Jim Mattis, of the book Warriors and Citizens: American Views of Our Military

She has served in various policy roles including at the White House for the National Security Council; at the Department of Defense for the Office of the Secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff and the State Department for the Policy Planning Staff.  During the 2008 presidential election, she was Senior Policy Advisor on the McCain-Palin campaign.

She has been profiled in publications ranging from national news to popular culture including the Los Angeles Times, Politico, and Vogue Magazine.

Her recent publications include: Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony (Harvard University Press, 2017), Republican Foreign Policy After Trump (Survival, Fall 2016), National Security Challenges for the Next President (Orbis, Winter 2017), and Will Washington Abandon the Order?, (Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb 2017).

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Recent Commentary

Athens, Greece
Analysis and Commentary

Syriza Rolls The Dice

by Kori Schakevia Foreign Policy
Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Greece's new government rolled out its audacious plan to drag the country out of austerity. It might be in for a rude awakening.

Analysis and Commentary

Patience Isn’t Always A Virtue

by Kori Schakevia Foreign Policy
Monday, February 9, 2015

The White House released its long-overdue National Security Strategy (NSS) on Friday. Criticisms of the administration’s leadership failures have clearly gotten under the White House’s skin, because this is a document drowning in the term leadership. So we will “lead with purpose,” “lead with strength,” “lead by example,” etc.

Analysis and Commentary

The Opportunity Obama Missed In The State Of The Union

by Kori Schakevia Foreign Policy
Tuesday, January 20, 2015

It was perversely fascinating to watch the man who condescendingly explained to the Republican congressional leadership in 2009 that “elections have consequences” sail with such imperious disdain through a speech wholly unconnected to the political realities of the legislative body to which he delivered this speech.

Related Commentary

Too Many Questions and Too Much Doubt

by Kori Schakevia Strategika
Friday, December 19, 2014

That fine strategist Groucho Marx said that in politics, authenticity is everything; once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.

White House at night
Analysis and Commentary

Keeping The Public In The Dark

by Kori Schakevia US News
Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Yes, the Bush administration did go too far. In the fearful days after the 9/11 attacks, the administration made choices, putting our security ahead of our values. They worried enemies we knew little about were poised to strike again – and they were right. They worried we were unprepared for the nature of a jihadi challenge – and they were right.

Analysis and Commentary

What Was Chuck Hagel’s Biggest Mistake?

by Kori Schakevia Politico Magazine
Monday, November 24, 2014

Was it his Syria policy? A distrusting White House? Poor management at the Pentagon? All of the above? As Chuck Hagel steps down as defense secretary, Politico Magazine asked top national security thinkers to tell us what his biggest mistake was—or what went wrong otherwise in his tenure—and here’s what they had to say.

Analysis and Commentary

A president riding off into the sunset

by Kori Schakevia Foreign Policy
Thursday, November 6, 2014

Three reasons why President Obama isn't about to be a second-term foreign-policy free-ranger.

Analysis and Commentary

Reserve Soldiers’ Jobs for Soldiers, Not Contractors

by Kori Schakevia New York Times
Sunday, October 26, 2014

The American military is profoundly dependent on civilian contractors in the conduct of our wars. Since 2003, contractors have constituted more than 50 percent of the force in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans.

The Price of Our “Responsible” Exit

by Kori Schakevia Hoover Digest
Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Iraq war never ended. We just quit fighting it.

Global Puzzle Pieces
Analysis and Commentary

The Perils of Limiting Our Wars

by Kori Schakevia War on the Rocks
Thursday, October 16, 2014

President Obama has been vague about many aspects of this most recent American involvement in the Middle East, but he has been absolutely clear about one thing: only the military forces of the countries under siege by the Islamic State can defeat the Islamic State. Numerous supporters of the president’s strategy keep repeating this mantra.  When did we start believing that?

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