Richard Fontaine - Wikiwand

American international relations scholar

EducationTulane University (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MA)

OccupationForeign policy analyst

EmployerCenter for a New American Security

SpouseKaren Fontaine

Richard Fontaine

Education	Tulane University (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Occupation	Foreign policy analyst
Employer	Center for a New American Security
Spouse	Karen Fontaine
Children	4

Richard Fontaine is an American foreign policy analyst^[1] currently serving as CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).^[2]^[3]

Born in New Orleans, Fontaine holds a BA in international relations from Tulane University and an MA in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University SAIS.^[2]

Career

Fontaine started his foreign policy career as a staff member focusing on the Middle East and South Asia at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Between 2003 and 2004, he was the associate director for Near Eastern Affairs at the White House National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration.^[4]

Fontaine served as a foreign policy advisor to the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign from 2004 to 2008^[5] and later became the Senate Armed Services Committee's minority deputy staff director.^[6]

He was appointed a senior fellow and senior advisor at CNAS in 2009 and became president in 2012, succeeding John Nagl.^[6] In 2019, he was named CNAS' CEO, succeeding Victoria Nuland.^[7]

Fontaine was also an adjunct professor at Georgetown SFS' security studies program.^[8]

He is a member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.^[9]

In 2024 Fontaine released "Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power" with his co-author Robert D. Blackwill.^[10]^[11]^[12]

In June 2025, Fontaine was appointed a member of Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust, the company's independent governance structure.^[13]

References

↑ Knott, Matthew (2024-04-08). "Trump will see nuclear subs as a 'win-win', US foreign policy guru predicts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
1 2 "Richard Fontaine". www.cnas.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
↑ "Richard Fontaine on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
↑ "Richard Fontaine" (PDF). Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
↑ Draper, Robert (1 September 2015). "Between Iraq and a Hawk Base". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
1 2 McDuffee, Allen (2012-05-17). "CNAS names Richard Fontaine, former McCain adviser, as its new president". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
↑ "CNAS Names Richard Fontaine as CEO". www.cnas.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
↑ "Richard Fontaine". Spirit of America. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
↑ "Defense Policy Board". United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
↑ Han, Bochen (2024-06-18). "US is urged to join Asia-Pacific trade group, shift forces to Indo-Pacific". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
↑ Manea, Octavian (2024-07-30). "Interview with Robert Blackwill and Richard Fontaine: Lost Decade – The US Pivot and the Rise of Chinese Power | Small Wars Journal". Small Wars Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
↑ West, John (2024-07-12). "Book Review: Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power". Australian Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
↑ Wiggers, Kyle (2025-06-06). "Anthropic appoints a national security expert to its governing trust". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-10.

External links

Ex-adviser worries McCain was last politician willing to take risks. Interview with The Hill TV

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