Michael J. Mazarr is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He has been a faculty member and associate dean at the U.S. National War College and senior fellow and project leader at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and has worked as an aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and as a defense staffer on Capitol Hill. He holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs.