Paul Stares

Paul B. Stares is the General John W. Vessey senior fellow for conflict prevention and director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He also directs CFR’s Special Initiative on Securing Ukraine’s Future, which draws on the Council’s extensive expertise to address the key policy challenges regarding the Russia-Ukraine war and European security. An expert on conflict prevention and a regular commentator on current affairs, he is the author or editor of nine books on U.S. security policy and international relations. His most recent book is Preventive Engagement: How America Can Avoid War, Stay Strong, and Keep the Peace (Columbia University Press, 2017). He is also the author or editor of numerous CFR papers, reports, and memoranda, including the highly regarded annual Preventive Priorities Survey. Prior to joining CFR, Dr. Stares was vice president and director of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention at the United States Institute of Peace. He worked as associate director and senior research scholar at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation from 2000 to 2002 and was senior research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs and then director of studies at the Japan Center for International Exchange from 1996 to 2000. Dr. Stares has participated in numerous expert working groups and task forces including the Genocide Prevention Task Force co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and William Cohen. He was previously a senior fellow in the foreign policy studies program at the Brookings Institution, a NATO fellow, and a scholar in residence at the MacArthur Foundation's Moscow office.