Dr. Mara Karlin has served under five administrations and secretaries of defense. Having spent so much time in the Pentagon, and having written a new book, Building Militaries in Fragile States: Challenges for the United States, she recently shared her insights with cadets and faculty at a Modern War Institute Speaker Series event. She discussed how her experience in the Department of Defense shaped her research agenda as a scholar of strategic studies.
Dr. Karlin is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and associate professor of strategic studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. At the Pentagon, she previously has advised on policies spanning strategic planning, defense budgeting, future wars and the evolving security environment, and regional affairs involving the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
You can read more about the event here, and watch the full video of her remarks below.