Sarah Kreps is a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, where her research focuses on the intersection of technology and international relations. She is also the John L. Wetherill Professor at Cornell University, with appointments in government and law, and a Milstein faculty fellow in technology and humanity.
She has written five books, including the book “Social Media and International Relations” (Cambridge University Press, 2020). The book argues that new media upends fundamental theories of international relations, giving autocracies comparative advantages both in terms of their capacity for regime preservation and capacity for interfering in the domestic political discourse and process of democratic countries. Other books include: “Taxing Wars: The American Way of War Finance and the Decline of Democracy” (Oxford University Press, 2018); “Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know” (Oxford University Press, 2016); “Drone Warfare” (Polity Press, 2014, with John Kaag); and “Coalitions of Convenience: United States Military Interventions after the Cold War” (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Beyond these books, Kreps’s work has appeared in a number of academic journals such as the American Political Science Review, World Politics, Journal of Politics, and International Security, and policy outlets such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. Her commentary has been featured widely, including in outlets such as The Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, USA Today, CNBC, and CNN.
Kreps has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations (where she is a life member), Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, West Point, and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs. She has a bachelor’s from Harvard, Master of Science from Oxford, and doctorate from Georgetown. Between 1999 and 2003, she served as an active duty officer in the United States Air Force and as a reservist at the National Reconnaissance Office and Pentagon from 2003-06.
Affiliations
American Journal of Political Science, editorial board
Atkinson Center for Sustainability, faculty fellow
Cornell Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, faculty fellow
Council on Foreign Relations, life member
International Security, associate editor
Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity, faculty fellow
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, faculty fellow
Security Studies, associate editor
- Contact
- fpmedia@brookings.edu — Foreign Policy Program
- Topics
- Arms Control
- Cybersecurity
- National Security
- Technology & Innovation
- U.S. Defense
- U.S. Foreign Policy
- Programs
- Foreign Policy
- Centers
- Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology
- Projects
- Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative
- Additional Expertise Areas
- Defense policy
- Emerging technology
- Current Position
- Professor, Law School and Department of Government, Cornell University
- Past Positions
- Foreign Policy Adviser, Pete for America Presidential Campaign (2019)
- Adjunct Scholar, Modern War Institute at West Point (2017-2018)
- Summer Security Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (2015)
- Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (2013-2014)
- Research Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University (2007-2008)
- Air Force Officer, Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs (2005-2006)
- Advanced Systems and Technology, National Reconnaissance Office (2003-2005)
- Acquisitions and Foreign Area Officer, United States Air Force (1999-2003)
- Education
- Ph.D., Georgetown University, 2007
- M.Sc., Oxford University, 1999
- B.A., Harvard University, 1998
