Harold Trinkunas

Harold Trinkunas is a Senior Research Scholar and Associate Director for Research at CISAC. Harold came to CISAC from the Brookings Institution, where he was the Charles W. Robinson Chair and Senior Fellow as well as Director of the Latin America Initiative. Previously, he served as Chair of the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he was also an Associate Professor. One of the nation's leading Latin America specialists, Harold's work has examined civil-military relations, ungoverned spaces, terrorist financing, emerging power dynamics, and global governance. Trinkunas co-authored Aspirational Power: Brazil’s Long Road to Global Influence (Brookings Institution Press, 2016) and authored Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela (University of North Carolina Press, 2005). He co-edited and contributed to American Crossings: Border Politics in the Western Hemisphere (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015), “Terrorism Financing and State Responses" (Stanford University Press, 2007), Global Politics of Defense Reform (Palgrave MacMillan, 2008), and Ungoverned Spaces: Alternatives to State Authority in an Era of Softened Sovereignty (Stanford University Press, 2010). Other publications include: “Alternative Governance in Latin America” in Routledge Handbook of Latin American Security (Routledge, 2016); “Converging on the Future of Global Internet Governance: The United States and Brazil” (Brookings Institution, July 2015); “Better Than You Think: Reframing Inter-American Relations” (Brookings Institution, March 2015); “Reordering Regional Security in Latin America,” Journal of International Affairs 66.2 (Spring/Summer 2013); “Latin America’s Growing Security Gap” with David Pion-Berlin, Journal of Democracy 22.1 (January 2011); “Civilian Praetorianism and Military Shirking during Constitutional Crises in Latin America” with David Pion-Berlin, Comparative Politics 42.4 (July 2010); and “Attention Deficits: Why Politicians and Scholars Ignore Defense Policy in Latin America” with David Pion-Berlin, Latin American Research Review 42.3 (Fall 2007). Harold brings to the Associate Director for Research role extensive experience in academic administration, program development, mentoring, teaching, and policy analysis. Born and raised in Venezuela, Harold earned his doctorate in political science from Stanford University in 1999 and has been a predoctoral fellow and later a visiting professor at CISAC.