About CNAS

Bold. Innovative. Bipartisan.

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defense policies. CNAS engages policymakers, experts, and the public with innovative, fact-based research, ideas, and analysis to shape and elevate the national security debate. A key part of our mission is to inform and prepare the national security leaders of today and tomorrow.

CNAS performs groundbreaking research and analysis to shape and elevate the national security and foreign policy debate in Washington and beyond. Our dynamic research agenda is designed to shape the choices of leaders in the U.S. government, the private sector, and society to advance U.S. interests and strategy.

We have a track record of attracting the best and brightest scholars and practitioners to lead our research programs, and our board members, founders, leaders, scholars, and interns have held or gone on to prominent positions in the U.S. government, at the departments of Defense and State, the White House, and the Central Intelligence Agency as well as in Congress and the private sector. As a result, we benefit from a strong network of supporters in all corners of the policymaking community.

CNAS is located in Washington and was established in 2007 by co-founders Dr. Kurt M. Campbell and Michèle A. Flournoy. Since the Center’s founding, our work has informed key U.S. strategic choices and has been acted on by Republican and Democratic leaders in the executive branch and on Capitol Hill.

CNAS is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Our research is independent and non-partisan. CNAS does not take institutional positions on policy issues, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.