Matthew J. Flynn, Ph.D.

Education

• Ph.D. History, 2004, Ohio University 

Biography

Matthew J. Flynn, PhD., serves as Professor of War Studies at Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA.  He specializes in the evolution of warfare and has written on topics such as preemptive war, revolutionary war and insurgency, borders and frontiers, and militarization in the cyber domain.  His book publications include, Settle and Conquer: Militarism on the Frontier of North America, 1607-1890, examining American westward expansion as a successful counterinsurgency.  He also co-authored a study analyzing revolution and civil liberties and titled, Washington & Napoleon: Leadership in the Age of Revolution.  Books such as First Strike: Preemptive War in Modern History, and Contesting History: The Bush Counterinsurgency Legacy in Iraq, look at preemptive warfare as national policy and counterinsurgency’s impact on national power, respectively. 

Selected Publications 

• Flynn, M.  “Settle and Conquer: The Ultimate Counterinsurgency Success.” Small Wars & Insurgencies Vol. 32, Issue 3 (2021): 509-534.
• Flynn, M.  “The Unity of the Operational Art: Napoleon and Naval Integration.” Journal of Advanced Military Studies Vol. 11, No. 2 (2020): 11-34.
• Flynn, M.  “The Cyber ‘Errand into the Wilderness’: The ‘Defending Forward’ Inflection Point.”  Georgetown Journal of International Affairs Vol. 21 (Fall 2020): 71-79.
• Flynn, M.  “Cyber Rebellions: The Online Struggle for Openness.”  Journal of International Affairs Vol. 71, No. 1.5 (Special Issue: 2018): 107-114.
• Flynn, M.  “What Napoleon Can Teach Us About the South China Sea.” War on the Rocks, April 12, 2021. https://warontherocks.com/2021/04/what-napoleon-can-teach-us-about-the-south-china-sea/