Dr Janine Davidson is an Assistant Professor for National and Global Security at George Mason’s Graduate School of Public Affairs. She is also non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she works on the 21st Century Defense Initiative. Dr. Davidson is one of the U.S. Government’s leading experts in the field of stabilization operations, reconstruction, counterinsurgency and conflict transformation.

Prior to joining the GMU faculty, Dr. Davidson served in the Pentagon as Director, DoD Stability Operations Capabilities in the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations, where she oversaw the implementation of DoD Directive 3000.05, “Military Support to Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR).” In this role, she was also the Department of Defense lead for the Interagency Counterinsurgency Initiative and was the head of the Consortium for Complex Operations, an innovative interagency project to enhance education, training, and performance in complex emergencies, including conflict prevention, peace operations, stabilization, reconstruction, and counterinsurgency.

Before joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Davidson was Director, Counterinsurgency Studies with the Center for Adaptive Strategies and Threats at Hicks and Associates, Inc, where she studied counterinsurgency, terrorism, and stability & reconstruction operations and participated in Red Teaming and war-gaming. From 2003 to 2004, she was an Associate and consultant at DFI Government Practice in Washington D.C. and a pre-doctoral Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

From 1988 to 1998, Dr. Davidson served in the United States Air Force as an aircraft commander and senior pilot for the C-130 and the C-17 cargo aircraft. She conducted combat support and humanitarian air mobility missions throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. As an instructor pilot, she also taught flying, aerodynamics, and navigation at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Dr. Davidson has also taught at Davidson College in North Carolina. Her forthcoming book, The Fog of Peace, examines the U.S. military’s adaptation and learning processes for counterinsurgency and irregular war.