Department of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School

Harold Trinkunas is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His research has focused on Latin American politics, particularly on civil-military relations, terrorism financing, and ungoverned spaces. His recent publications include "Attention Deficits: Why Politicians Ignore Defense Policy in Latin America," (Latin American Research Review. 42.3, 2007) and Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela (University of North Carolina Press, 2005). He co-edited and contributed to Terrorism Financing and State Responses (Stanford University Press, 2007), Global Politics of Defense Reform (Palgrave MacMillan, 2008), and Ungoverned Spaces: Alternatives to State Authority in an Era of Softened Sovereignty (Stanford University Press, 2010). Professor Trinkunas received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University in 1999 after conducting extensive field research in Argentina and Venezuela.

Professor Trinkunas is also Deputy Director for Academic Affairs of the Center for Civil Military Relations at the Naval Postgraduate School. The Center conducts research and provides education on security sector reform, peace support and stability operations, counter-terrorism strategy, and civil-military relations, both in Monterey and abroad.