Friedberg returns from government post

After two years in the White House as deputy assistant for national security affairs and director of policy planning, Aaron Friedberg has returned to his joint post as a professor of politics and international affairs in the politics department and the Wilson School.

"I came back because I wanted to have the freedom to write about the things that most interest me and because I missed teaching," Friedberg said in an email.

Friedberg began his government post in June 2003 on a National Service leave, which allows faculty members to serve in the government or in international organizations, and after one year was asked stay on until 2005.

The transition back to Princeton has been "relatively painless," Friedberg said. "Though I find that I'm having to relearn some things."

"In Washington, you typically have no more than five minutes to talk with very busy decision-makers and most memos have to be no more than two or three pages long," he said. This is in contrast to academia, where professors learn to give 50-minute lectures and write 50-page articles "practically in their sleep," he said.

Friedberg received his Ph.D. in 1986 from Harvard after spending two years working in Washington, and began teaching at Princeton one year later. Since 1987, he has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses on American foreign policy, security studies and international relations.

This semester, Friedberg is teaching a Wilson School graduate seminar on national security and plans to teach a politics undergraduate seminar on U.S.-China relations this spring.

Students in his national security course said they were pleased to have the opportunity to learn from someone with such wide practical experience.

Christian Hansen GS, who studies at the Wilson School, said he was impressed with Friedberg's experience after just one lecture.

"I myself am on leave from the Canadian Foreign Service, and I really appreciate his coming out from a two-year stint in a senior position and teaching again," Hansen said. "Now when we debate the directions of U.S. policy, his practical experience can really bring a new aspect to classroom discussion."

Friedberg said his two years of experience as deputy assistant for national security affairs may positively impact his teaching and research.

"I gained a lot of insight into the process by which policies are made and implemented," he said. "I got to experience some of the things that I have been thinking about and writing about for my entire career."

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Friedberg plans to continue his research into international relations and security. "I plan to continue with my work on Asia, but also intend to think and write about the War on Terrorism and the overall shape of American strategy in the years ahead," he said.

During his time at Princeton, in addition to writing two books, Friedberg has served as a fellow at the Smithsonian Institute's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Harvard's Center for International Affairs.

Friedburg had worked in the public sector prior to his arrival at the White House.

He served as research director at the National Bureau of Asian Research and consulted for a number of federal agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Council. In addition, he was the first holder of the Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign and International Relations at the Library of Congress from 2001 to 2002.

Having served a number of positions in the public sector, Friedberg said he is happy to be teaching at Princeton again.

"Teaching is a great discipline — it helps you to clarify your ideas and it also gives you an opportunity to help prepare the next generation of leaders and citizens," he said.