Philip J. (P.J.) Crowley: American Foreign Policy in a Time of Fractured Politics and Failed States

Philip J. (P.J.) Crowley
Professor of Practice at The George Washington University

Philip J. (P.J.) Crowley is the author of Red Line: American Foreign Policy in a Time of Fractured Politics and Failing States. The book traces the intersection of American foreign policy, domestic politics and strategic narratives, with a particular focus on the Obama administration and the international challenges that the next president will inherit.

P.J. is a Professor of Practice at The George Washington University. P.J. appears frequently as a national security commentator on national and global television networks. He writes regular opinion pieces for the BBC.

He served as a spokesperson for the U.S. government for 30 years. P.J. was the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the U.S. Department of State between 2009 and 2011 and was the primary U.S. government interlocutor with major media regarding the impact of the release of classified diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks. He resigned from that position after making public comments critical of the government’s pre-trial treatment of Private First Class Chelsea Manning. Atlantic Magazine named him as one of 21 Brave Thinkers in 2011.

P.J. is a retired Air Force colonel and is a veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991. He served on the National Security Council staff at the White House as a special assistant to President Clinton and deputy press secretary between 1997 and 2001. Prior to his nomination as Assistant Secretary of State, P.J. was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and authored several studies on national and homeland security issues.

P.J. is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. In recognition of his career in public affairs, strategic communication and public diplomacy, Andrei Saguna University of Constanta in Romania awarded him an honorary doctorate in October 2016. He and his spouse, Paula Kougeas, also a retired Air Force colonel, have two children and live in Alexandria, Virginia.