Dr. A. Bradley Potter

potter22 [at] llnl.gov (potter22[at]llnl[dot]gov)   (925) 424-3019

A. Bradley Potter is a Senior Analyst at the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  His scholarship examines wartime decision-making, war termination, nuclear strategy, and U.S. foreign policy. 

Prior to joining CGSR, Dr. Potter served in a variety of positions at the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Defense where he worked on a range of European security issues.  Earlier, he was the inaugural Stanton Visiting Scientist at the U.S. Air Force Academy, an adjunct policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, and an operations planner at the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).  He has also taught courses in strategic studies and U.S. foreign policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) as an adjunct lecturer.

Dr. Potter has held several academic fellowships – including with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS, and the International Security Center at the University of Notre Dame – and is the recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence.  His work is published in the Texas National Security Review, Comparative Strategy, War on the Rocks, and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, among other publications.  He earned a PhD and MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University SAIS and a BS in international relations (with honors) and physics from the College of William and Mary. 

Recent Publications

"Timeless and the Temporary: Strategic Thinking for 21st Century Strategy," with Thomas G. Mahnken, Comparative Strategy 40, no. 2 (2021): 122-127. April 23, 2021

"When Do Leaders Change Course? Theories of Success and the American Withdrawal from Beirut, 1983-1984," with Alexandra Evans, Texas National Security Review, 2, no. 2 (February 2019): 10 – 38.

“Restless Strategy: Alfred Gray’s Philosophy of Warfighting,” with Thomas G. Mahnken, in The Legacy of American Naval Power: Reinvigorating Maritime Strategic Thought, An Anthology, ed. Paul Westermeyer, (Quantico, VA: Marine Corps University Press, 2019), 216 – 255.

“Thinking about a Policy-Oriented PhD in International Relations?” with Nathaniel Allen and Torrey Taussig, War on the Rocks, October 5, 2017.

“Lessons on History and Statecraft from a Rocky Mountain Seminar,” with Lauren Dickey et al., War on the Rocks, August 9, 2016. 

"A Sustainable Training Strategy for Improving Healthcare Following a Catastrophic Radiological or Nuclear Incident," with Daniel J. Blumenthal et al., Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 29, no. 1 (2014): 80 – 86. February 12, 2014

“It’s All About the Data: Responding to International Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Incidents,” with Julie Bentz and Daniel Blumenthal, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 70, no. 4 (July – August 2014): 57 – 68.