Cynthia Cook
Cynthia Cook is director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her research interests include defense acquisition policy and organization, the defense-industrial base, new technology development, and weapon systems production and sustainment. Dr. Cook is a member of the editorial board for the Defense Acquisition Research Journal and is an adjunct professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. From 1997 to 2021, Dr. Cook worked as a senior management scientist at RAND, where she oversaw, led, and worked on a wide range of studies for components across the U.S. Department of Defense, along with the Australian Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, Dr. Cook was a research specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on the Lean Aerospace Initiative. Before her graduate studies, Dr. Cook worked in New York as an investment banker, specializing in high-yield finance. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University and a BS in management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
In the News
Munitions put into focus as stockpiles dwindle
Cynthia Cook in Financial Times — July 18, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT: Joint All-Domain Command, Control A Journey, Not a Destination
Cynthia Cook in National Defense — July 10, 2023
How to leverage the best of European defense capabilities
Cynthia Cook in Defense News — June 9, 2023
[Interview] 신시아 쿡 美 국제전략문제연구소(CSIS) 방위산업 주도그룹 책임자
Cynthia Cook in Economy Chosun — June 5, 2023
The Air Force wants new authorities to kick off programs. Will Congress grant them?
Cynthia Cook in Defense Scoop — April 26, 2023
Friends Over Factories
Cynthia Cook in Foreign Affairs — March 27, 2023
Industrial Base Woes Give DOD Problems for Contractors to Solve
Cynthia Cook in Bloomberg Government — March 24, 2023
EXPERTS REFLECT ON THE FIRST YEAR OF THE UKRAINE WAR
Cynthia Cook in Inkstick — March 22, 2023
All Cynthia Cook Content
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Mapping the U.S. DOD Acquisition Ecosystem
Acquisition for Decision Advantage: The Role of the CDAO in Scaling Software Solutions
Event by Margie Palmieri and Cynthia Cook — July 21, 2023
Don’t Blame ‘Just-in-Time’ Production for Challenges in the U.S. Manufacturing Industrial Base
Critical Questions by Cynthia Cook and Audrey Aldisert — July 19, 2023
"European Warfighting Resilience and NATO Race of Logistics": Audio Brief with Cynthia Cook
Podcast Episode by Cynthia Cook — July 13, 2023
Understanding China’s Gallium Sanctions
Critical Questions by Alexander Holderness , Nicholas Velazquez , Henry H. Carroll , and Cynthia Cook — July 7, 2023
Press Briefing: Previewing the NATO Summit in Vilnius
Event by Max Bergmann , Sean Monaghan , Seth G. Jones , and Cynthia Cook — June 29, 2023
European Warfighting Resilience and NATO Race of Logistics: Ensuring That Europe Has the Fuel It Needs to Fight the Next War
Brief by Anna Dowd , Dominik P. Jankowski , and Cynthia Cook — June 28, 2023
Pausing Proliferation: Facing China's Military Engine Development
Event by Cynthia Cook , Jeremiah Gertler , and Brig. Gen. David R. Stilwell (USAF, ret.) — April 18, 2023
Global Security Forum 2023: Transatlantic Defense
Event by John J. Hamre , Seth G. Jones , Emily Harding , Cynthia Cook , and Max Bergmann — April 5, 2023
Powering Proliferation: The Global Engine Market and China’s Indigenization
Brief by Alexander Holderness , Nicholas Velazquez , Jasmine Phillips , Gregory Sanders , and Cynthia Cook — March 21, 2023