Drew Peterson

At the Center for the Study of Statesmanship, Drew Peterson provides vocational advice to students and compares cultures of strategy and negotiation, as practical traditions of statecraft, across a variety of historical and institutional settings, including empires, confederations, and early nation-states.  His academic background includes an interdisciplinary B.S.F.S. from Georgetown that emphasized comparative politics, diplomatic history, and bureaucratic models of foreign policy decision-making, with a minor in political and social thought examining virtue theory and nationalism.  He also holds an A.M. from Harvard in Russian studies, where he focused on the history of the Soviet defense industry and arms trade.

A Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State, he currently serves as Special Assistant to the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. His previous assignments include Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, State Department liaison to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and various roles at U.S. embassies in Israel, Kazakhstan, and Lithuania, including as assistant to two U.S. ambassadors. He is proficient in French, Hebrew, and Russian, and has received the Department’s Superior Honor Award. His experience prior to the public sector includes research at the Hudson Institute and volunteer service as an executive of Young Americans for Diplomatic Leadership, a nonprofit. He is an Eagle Scout and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.