Dr. Brent Talbot
Professor of Military and Strategic Studies
Bio
Dr Brent Talbot serves as a Professor for the Department of Military & Strategic Studies. He previously served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science while in uniform and Deputy Director of the Air Force Institute for National Security Studies, co-located at the Air Force Academy.
During more than two decades of teaching, Dr Talbot has taught a number of Military & Strategic Studies courses, including Scholars core, International Threats, International Security Studies, Civil-Military Relations, Arab-Israeli Wars, Israeli Strategy, Military Strategies of Europe and the Middle East, and Negotiations. In Political Science, he taught American Government, Intro to International Relations, US Foreign and National Security Policy, and Middle East Politics. He has also served as a Faculty Senator, Chair of the Academy’s Middle East Studies Group, and is currently an advisor to the Cadet Scholars Program.
Outside USAFA, Dr Talbot has taught as an Adjunct Professor for the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at Denver University and he currently teaches online as an adjunct Lecturer for the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M.
A 20 year Air Force veteran and former Weapons Systems Officer (WSO/CSO), he flew the F-111 aircraft, served as an Undergraduate Navigator Training Instructor, and a Joint Staff Action Officer. His flying experience included deployments to Korea and Turkey as well as certification in the USAFE nuclear mission during the Cold War.
Education
Ph.D., Comparative and International Politics, University of Denver, Colorado (2003)
M.A., International Studies, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (1986)
B.A., International Relations, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (1981)
Professional Experience
Professor of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (2009-Present)
Lecturer (online), Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University (2012-Present)
Associate Professor of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (2006-2008)
Adjunct Professor, Joseph Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver (2003-2011)
Assistant Professor of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (2003-2005)
Instructor and Assistant Professor of Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy (1992-94, 98-02)
Deputy Director, Air Force Institute for National Security Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy (1998-2000)
Joint Staff Action Officer, Joint Forces Command, Korea (1997-98)
Instructor Navigator and Flight Commander, Undergraduate Navigator Training, Mather AFB, CA (1991-92)
F-111 Weapons Systems Officer, Chief of Squadron Radar Strike, and Chief of Wing Flight Safety, RAF Upper Heyford, UK (1988-91)
F-111 Weapons Systems Officer and Instructor WSO, Cannon AFB, NM (1984-1988)
Student Navigator, Undergraduate Navigator Training, Mather AFB, CA (1983)
Honors & Awards
Outstanding Academy Educator
Heiser Award nominee
Dean’s Annual Award Winner for Best Faculty Team—“Nuclear Education Team”
3 time Dorn Award winner for top faculty research in the Department of Military & Strategic Studies
Joint Meritorious Service medal
AF Meritorious Service medal with two oak leaf clusters
AF Commendation medal
AF Achievement medal
AFROTC Distinguished Graduate
Research and Scholarly Interests
Nuclear Proliferation and Strategy, Middle East Regional Security
Publications
Refereed Journals
“Getting Deterrence Right: The Case for Stratified Deterrence,” Journal of Strategic Security Vol 13, No 1 (2020), 26-40.
“Eliminating ICBMs—As Part of a 21st Century Deterrence Strategy,” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Vol 74, No 1, 52-59 (2018)
“Countering the Radical Islamist Message: Image Management as a Counter-terror Strategy,” Journal of Academic Perspectives, Vol 2012, No 2, 19-38 (2012)
“Stuxnet and After,” Journal of International Security Affairs, No 21, 69-78 (Fall/Winter 2011)
“Israel and the Iranian Nuclear Infrastructure,” Joint Force Quarterly Vol 56, No 1, 97-103 (2010)
Co-authored with Heidi Harriman, “Disarming Hezbollah,” Mediterranean Quarterly Vol 19, No 4, 29-53 (Fall 2008)
“The Transatlantic Gap over Iraq,” European Security Vol 17, No 1, 61-84 (Spring 2008)
Co-authored with Jeffrey Hicks, “Led by a Lion: The US Role in Preserving Gulf Security,” in Air and Space Power Journal, 78-94 (Fall 2000)
Book Chapters
“Goldwater-Nichols and the Evolution of the Joint Force,” Chapter 14 in and Ryan Burke, Michael Fowler, and Kevin McCaskey, Eds., Military Strategy, Joint Operations, and Airpower: An Introduction, Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 185-193 (2018)
“Israel, Iran, and the Arms Control Paradox of the Middle East,” chapter 6 in Security Issues in the Greater Middle East, Karl Yambert, Ed., Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger Security International, 59-67 (2016)
-–updated by invitation and republished from chapter 9 (same title) in Arms Control: History, Theory, and Policy, Vol 2, Robert E. Williams, Jr., and Paul R. Viotti, Eds., Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC/Clio, 161-176 (2012)
Co-authored with James M. Smith, “Terrorism and Deterrence by Denial,” chapter 4 in Terrorism and Homeland Security: Thinking Strategically About Policy, Paul Viotti, Michael Opheim and Nicholas Bowen, Eds., Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 53-68 (2008)
“Just War in Iraq? Arab Radical and Reformist Perspectives,” chapter 12 in Wielding the Sword While Proclaiming Peace, Kerry Kartchner and Valerie Hudson, Eds., Kennedy Center for International Studies, Brigham Young University Press, 107-128 (2004)
Dissertation
Cooperative Security in the Era of US Primacy: Exploring the Leader-Follower Relationship during Coalition Operations (2002)
Other Publications
Co-authored with Jodi Vittori, “Gambling with History: The Making of a Democratic Iraq,” Air and Space Chronicles (June 2004)
“The Arab Perception and Consensus Problems: Implications for US Policy in the Middle East,” INSS Occasional Paper #48, 1-40 (Feb. 2003)