Friedberg appointed adviser to Romney

Professor of Politics and International Affairs Aaron Friedberg has been appointed to former governor Mitt Romney’s Foreign Policy and National Security Advisory Team, the candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination announced on his campaign website.

“America and our allies are facing a series of complex threats,” Romney said in a press release. “To shape them before they explode into conflict, our foreign policy will have to be guided by a strategy of American strength. I am deeply honored to have the counsel of this extraordinary group of diplomats, experts and statesmen.”

Friedberg could not be reached for comment on this story.

Friedberg, whose research interests include East Asia, international security and defense policy, will be one of three co-chairs of the work group focusing on the Asia Pacific region. Romney appointed work groups, in addition to a number of special advisers, for many world regions as well as for international challenges such as human rights and counter-proliferation.

Friedberg first joined the University’s faculty in 1987 and became a tenured professor in 1999. Between 1992 and 2003, he served as the director of the Research Program in International Security, which is run through the Wilson School. During that time, he also directed the Center of International Studies.

After the 2002-03 academic year, Friedberg left the University to work for former vice president Dick Cheney as his Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs. He stayed in the post until June 2005 and was appointed to former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice’s Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion in November 2006.

Friedberg is currently teaching two graduate level seminars on security studies through the Wilson School. Last spring, he taught a Special Topics in Public Affairs lecture on “Grand Strategy,” a term he defines to mean the way political leaders attempt to use their economic, diplomatic and military power in times of both peace and war.

His appointment comes after Romney drew fire for criticizing President Obama for taking foreign policy advice from the “Harvard Faculty Lounge,” despite holding two degrees from Harvard himself. About a third of Romney’s announced foreign policy team — including Friedberg, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard — graduated from or have held positions at the Cambridge school.

Particularly after the recent killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki, many political pundits have begun to characterize the upcoming presidential election as an unusual one on the foreign policy and national security fronts.