John Gentry

John A. Gentry is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and an adjunct associate professor with the Security Studies Program, Center for Security Studies of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He was for 12 years an intelligence analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked mainly economic issues associated with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries; for two of those years he was senior analyst on the staff of the National Intelligence Officer for Warning. He is a retired U.S. Army Reserve officer, with most assignments in special operations and intelligence arenas; he spent much of 1996 as a civil affairs officer in Bosnia.

Previously, John taught at the College of International Security Affairs of National Defense University, George Mason University, and National Intelligence University.

John’s research interests primarily are in intelligence and security studies. His intelligence-related publications primarily address aspects of the U.S. Intelligence Community. His most recent book is How Wars Are Won and Lost: Vulnerability and Military Power (Praeger Security International, 2012). His current research projects include an article on the instrumental use of international norms by belligerents in armed conflicts and a book on strategic warning intelligence. John is a member of the editorial advisory board of the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence.

He received a B.A. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in political science from The George Washington University. 

Education

• PhD in Political Science, The George Washington University
• BA in History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill