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Kurt Campbell

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (since June 2009)

(AFP/Getty)

Why He Matters

Campbell could rightly be described as foreign policy think-tank royalty. The former researcher for the Center for Security and International Studies (CSIS) and the Brookings Institution helped found the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a centrist think tank that has sent its top officials to jobs across the Obama administration.

Campbell has zigzagged between government and academia since he graduated from Oxford University with a Ph.D. in international relations. He joined the Reagan administration as a special assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was an adviser to President Clinton, but left the federal government in 2000 to join CSIS and start a consulting firm that counsels clients looking to expand their businesses into Asia.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Cofounder, Center for a New American Security (2007 to 2009) ; President, StratAsia (since 2007); Senior Vice President of the International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (2000 to 2007)
Alma Mater: University of California, San Diego, B.A., 1980; Oxford University, PhD., 1987

Spouse: Lael Brainard
Web site

Path to Power

Campbell was born in Fresno, Calif. He received a B.A. in science, technology and public affairs from the University of California at San Diego in 1980. He then moved to Armenia to earn his masters' in music and political philosophy from the University of Erevan.

Campbell moved to England to study international relations at Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship, which he completed in 1984. While there, he also rowed and played rugby.

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The Issues

"The United States must step up its game in the Asian-Pacific region." That was one of Campbell's opening statements at his confirmation hearing, and could also serve as one of his clearest visions for his new job at the State Department.

Campbell believes that there is a perception that the U.S. has been distracted by Iraq and Afghanistan, and has consequently paid little attention to Asia over the last several years. To rectify this, Campbell calls for a comprehensive engagement strategy that shows the highest level of U.S. officials are invested in their relationship with China.

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Some of the major challenges Campbell hopes to address include the nuclear threat posed by North Korea; the rise of extremism in Southeast Asia; America's trade imbalance with China; and the ways America can fulfill its promise of serving as a "guarantor" of peace and stability in the region through sustained military presence.

China

Campbell argues that the key feature in global politics over the last decade has been China's emergence as a great power. He has said the U.S. must better integrate its military and diplomatic communications with China, and to engage the country's leadership intensively.

Campbell also believes that America's relationship with China must improve if the two countries are going to tackle problems like climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

He also called on Americans to work with allies in the region, like South Korea, Japan, Australia and Singapore to assure them that the U.S. is looking out for their best interests.

Japan

When Hillary Riodham Clinton was appointed secretary of state, some Japanese analysts worried that she would tilt U.S. foreign policy towards China, hurting Japan. However, Campbell is seen as a strong Japanese ally."The best way to engage China is with the strongest possible partnership with Japan and for Japanese friends to know that we are behind them," he said at his confirmation hearing. "So I think it's non-negotiable, a strong partnership with Japan if we don't have that foundation, then virtually nothing else is possible in Asia."

Foreign Policy and the Democratic Party

Since 2001, foreign policy has become a central issue in many American political campaigns, Campbell wrote in Hard Power. But Democrats lost credibility in international relations because they have not made the case for their ideas. Instead, they simply respond to Republican proposals, Campbell contends.

The problem is not that Democrats are without ideas. Innovations like the White House Homeland Security Office, nation-building and successful military campaigns in Korea and Bosnia came from Democratic leaders, Campbell stated, but most American voters don't realize this. Instead, Republicans claim credit.

To address this, Campbell called on Democrats to take control of the debate and develop a national security vision that includes specific defense policies and a clearly articulated strategy to win the war on terror.

Iraq

Campbell considers Iraq on of the most challenging long-term foreign policy crises for America. He has called on President Obama to clearly articulate what constitutes victory, much in the same way as former President Dwight Eisenhower in his "I will go to Korea" 1952 speech. This will engage American voters and ideally convince them to grant the president patience in dealing with the country.

The Network

Campbell is married to Lael Brainard, undersecretary of the treasury for international affairs. Campbell founded the Center for a New American Security with Michele Flournoy, who now has the number two job at the Department of Defense. Campbell and Flournoy were at the Pentagon in the Clinton administration.

Campbell is close to both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, thanks to his work in the administration. He campaigned for Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primary for president. He has also worked closely with several of her top-level foreign policy associates like Special Envoy Richard C. Holbrooke and Anne-Marie Slaughter, who runs the State Department's policy planning staff. The two blogged with New York Times columnist Nick Kristoff.

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