Peter D. Feaver

Professor of Political Science

Peter D. Feaver (Ph.D., Harvard, 1990) is a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Duke University.  He is Director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy and Co-PI of the America in the World Consortium. Feaver is author of Thanks For Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military (Oxford University Press, 2023), Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil-Military Relations (Harvard Press, 2003) and of Guarding the Guardians: Civilian Control of Nuclear Weapons in the United States (Cornell University Press, 1992). He is co-author: with Christopher Gelpi and Jason Reifler, of Paying the Human Costs of War (Princeton Press, 2009); with Susan Wasiolek and Anne Crossman, of Getting the Best Out of College (Ten Speed Press, 2008, 2nd edition 2012); and with Christopher Gelpi, of Choosing Your Battles: American Civil-Military Relations and the Use of Force (Princeton Press, 2004). He is co-editor, with Richard H. Kohn, of Soldiers and Civilians: The Civil-Military Gap and American National Security (MIT Press, 2001).  He has published numerous other monographs, scholarly articles, book chapters, and policy pieces on grand strategy, American foreign policy, public opinion, nuclear proliferation, civil-military relations, and cybersecurity.

From June 2005 to July 2007, Feaver served as Special Advisor for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform on the National Security Council Staff at the White House where his responsibilities included the national security strategy, regional strategy reviews, and other political-military issues. In 1993-94, Feaver served as Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council at the White House where his responsibilities included the national security strategy review, counterproliferation policy, regional nuclear arms control, and other defense policy issues.  He is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and is a contributor to “Shadow Government” at ForeignPolicy.com.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Professor of Political Science
  • Director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy
  • Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
  • Bass Fellow

Contact Information

  • Office Location: 287 Gross Hall, Box 90204, Durham, NC 27708
  • Email Address: pfeaver@duke.edu
  • Websites:

Education

  • B.A. Lehigh University, 1983
  • Ph.D. Harvard University, 1990

Research Interests

American grand strategy
Public attitudes towards the military in the United States
Civil-Military relations at the policy-making level

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

  • Spirit of Inquiry Teaching Award, 1st Place. Unknown. 2013
  • Spirit of Inquiry Teaching Prize, Second Place,. Pope Center, Raleigh. 2009

Courses Taught

  • PUBPOL 667S: American Civil-Military Relations
  • PUBPOL 501S: American Grand Strategy
  • PUBPOL 497S: Senior Seminar Special Topics
  • PUBPOL 376D: Foreign Policy of the United States
  • PUBPOL 166D: Introduction to Security, Peace and Conflict
  • POLSCI 799: Special Readings
  • POLSCI 667S: American Civil-Military Relations
  • POLSCI 562S: American Grand Strategy
  • POLSCI 497S-3: Senior Seminar in Security, Peace and Conflict
  • POLSCI 493-3: Senior Research Independent Study in Security, Peace and Conflict
  • POLSCI 391-3: Senior Independent Study in Security, Peace and Conflict
  • POLSCI 365D: Foreign Policy of the United States
  • POLSCI 160D: Introduction to Security, Peace and Conflict
  • HISTORY 567S: American Grand Strategy

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