Steven J. Nider is senior advisor at the Center for National Policy (CNP). Prior to joining the center, Nider served as director of congressional affairs at the congressionally mandated Project on National Security Reform and was a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. From 2006 to 2009 he was an analyst at Hicks & Associates, Inc., a defense and intelligence policy and analysis subsidiary of Science Application International Corp., where his work focused on the improvised explosive device (IED) battle in Iraq, counterinsurgency theory, and network-centric warfare. From 2000 to 2006 he served as director of foreign and security studies at the Progressive Policy Institute and was a contributing editor to Blueprint: Ideas for a New Century. At the institute, his areas of research included defense transformation, homeland security, and broader foreign policy. Nider has authored numerous articles and essays on various aspects of U.S. foreign and national security affairs. He served on the defense policy issue teams of Vice President Al Gore’s and Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaigns. He is an adjunct fellow with the American Security Project and a charter member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders.The son of a Foreign Service officer, Nider has lived in Italy, Thailand, China, Mexico, and Canada.