Professor of Strategic Studies
Email: benjamin.jensen@usmcu.edu
Dr. Benjamin M. Jensen holds a dual appointment as a Professor of Strategic Studies at the Marine Corps University School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) and as a Scholar-in-Residence at American University, School of International Service. At SAW he runs the Future War Research Program and directs the Changing Character of Conflict (3C) course. He previously founded the Gray Scholars Program at Marine Corps University, Command and Staff College and served as the inaugural Donald Bren Chair, helping establish the CMC Strategist Program. In 2017, Dr. Jensen received a Commandant of the Marine Corps Innovation Award. He has been a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council since 2016. He is an alumnus of the American Academy for Strategic Education (2014), Bridging the Gap Initiative (2013), and Merrill Center for Strategic Education Basin Harbor Workshop (2012).
Dr. Jensen has an extensive track record supporting the US Congress, the US Department of Defense, NATO, US Department of State (DOS), and USAID primarily with war gaming, red teaming, and alternative analysis. In 2019-2010, he served as the Senior Research Director and Lead Author for the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission. During that same time period, he developed new forecasting and assessment frameworks for the Economic Organizational of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in support of USAID and DOS initiatives. Since 2015, he has supported the U.S. Army, including Army Futures Command, with ongoing research on the future of strategic competition, military modernization programs, and warfighting. He has advised DARPA, the Russia Strategic Initiative (SMA), Strategic Multilayered Assessment (SMA) effort on the Joint Staff, and Office of Net Assessment.
Dr. Jensen publishes widely on the changing character of political violence and strategy. Stanford University Press published his first book, Forging the Sword: Doctrinal Change in the U.S. Army in 2016, including a foreword by Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster. He is also the co-author, with Lieutenant General Charles Cleveland of Military Strategy in the 21st Century: People, Connectivity, and Competition (Cambria Press, 2018) and, with Dr. Brandon Valeriano and Ryan Maness, Cyber Strategy: the Evolving Character of Power and Coercion (Oxford University Press, 2018). Dr. Jensen also publishes a column, “Next War” at War on the Rocks. He has written opinion pieces on conflict and strategy for the Washington Post, New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Times, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, Philadelphia Inquirer, Al-Hayat and the Daily Star. He has received research support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles Koch Foundation, Office of Naval Research, Hewlett Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, and the DoD Minerva Initiative.