October 19, 2020

Our October speaker returns to TCFR after acclaimed appearances in 2012 and 2016. He currently helps to coordinate the campaign activities of a group of national security and foreign policy professionals who have endorsed Biden, and he will bring an informed and expert judgment about the future of U.S. foreign policy if Biden is elected.

Dan Caldwell is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University.  Prof. Caldwell earned his AB, MA and PhD degrees at Stanford University and a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has taught at the Naval Postgraduate School, Stanford, UCLA and Brown University.

Dr. Caldwell has received a number of teaching and research awards, including Professor of the Year at Pepperdine University, the Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs at Harvard University, a Wilson Center fellowship, and a United States Institute of Peace Fellowship.

Prof. Caldwell served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve and during that time held positions at the Naval Postgraduate School and in the Executive Office of the President. 

He is the editor of five books and the author of five, including two international relations textbooks and most recently Vortex of Conflict: U.S. Policy toward Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. He is the founding chair of the Pepperdine Committee on Student Veterans and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and chairs its committee on academic outreach.