Global Studies Seminar presents Scott Smitson

The Global Studies Seminar presents a talk titled “Reflections on the 9/11 Wars and the Future of American Grand Strategy” by Scott Smitson, visiting assistant professor at Denison.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, American grand strategy, its role in the world, and the post-World War II international order is at a crossroads. As the US completes its final withdrawal from Afghanistan, attempts to revive its Trans-Atlantic relations, remains challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and postures for long term geopolitical competition with other great powers, the need for a dialogue that both reflects and forecasts America’s foreign and defense policy is both timely and relevant. Based on my professional experiences as a veteran of the 9/11 wars, military strategist, and political scientist, this presentation will seek to explore two key lines of inquiry: one, reflect and assess America’s conduct in the so-called “Global War on Terror”, and two, forecast the implications of these wars on America’s long term grand strategy, particularly during the time of a rising China and revanchist Russia.

Smitson is a Strategist, Global Futures Forecaster, Political Scientist, and Educator, and a retired US Army Officer. He is a visiting assistant professor at Denison University and is the professor of Geostrategy and Geo-economics at Joint Special Operations University. Serving over twenty-one years on active duty in both combat arms and as an Army Strategist, he is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and has deployed throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, and worked in the Pentagon as well as the UK Ministry of Defence. During his time at the Pentagon, he made significant contributions to the 2018 National Defense Strategy. His military career culminated in his assignment as the Chief of Strategy at US Southern Command, where he served as the principal strategic advisor to the 4-Star Commander on matters directly impacting current operations and mid-to-long term national policy and strategy for U.S. military activity and operations across Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, encompassing 31 countries and 16 dependencies and areas of special sovereignty.

Smitson served as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy from 2010-2013 and helped establish the West Point Grand Strategy Program in 2013. He also was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is a frequent Principal Lecturer at the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO) in Andalo, Italy, and has also held adjunct Professorships with Florida International University (FIU), University of Miami, and over the past two years with the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University.

Smitson earned a joint Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Policy from Indiana University’s School of Environmental and Public Affairs (SPEA) as well as a Master of Arts in Political Science. He was a Distinguished Military Graduate at the Ohio State University. His publications include “The Road to Good Intentions: British Nation-Building in Aden,” “Solving America’s Gray-Zone Puzzle,” “After Mosul: Enlarging the Context of the Syria-Iraq Conflict(s),” and “The Compound Security Dilemma: Threats at the Nexus of War and Peace.”