Benjamin Jensen

Director, Futures Lab and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department
Benjamin Jensen

Benjamin Jensen is director of the Futures Lab and a senior fellow for the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). At CSIS, Dr. Jensen leads research initiatives on applying data science and AI and machine learning to study the changing character of war and statecraft. Under his leadership, Futures Lab has pioneered building AI applications into wargames and innovative scenario exercises. The exercise topics range from major war, competitive strategy, and national mobilization to economic security, energy politics, and national resilience. He is also the Frank E. Petersen Chair for Emerging Technology and a professor of strategic studies at the Marine Corps University School of Advanced Warfighting (MCU). At MCU, he leads a research program on future war and teaches seminars on modern operational art and joint-all domain operations. Dr. Jensen has authored five books including Information at War: Military Innovation, Battle Networks, and the Future of Artificial Intelligence (Georgetown University Press, 2022), Military Strategy in the 21st Century: People, Connectivity, and Competition (Cambria, 2018), Cyber Strategy: The Evolving Character of Power and Coercion (Oxford University Press, 2018), and Forging the Sword: Doctrinal Change in the U.S. Army (Stanford University Press 2016). He also served as senior research director for the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission and is a reserve officer in the U.S. Army, with command experience from platoon to battalion. Dr. Jensen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned his MA and PhD from the American University School of International Service.

Programs & Projects

Areas of Expertise

Media Queries

In the News 8 of 90 results

Show More

All Benjamin Jensen Content

Filter by

1 - 10 of 184 results

Why the Golden Fleet Will Sail

Debates over a new battleship miss the larger issue—how to generate affordable naval firepower at scale. Seen as an arsenal ship, a “Golden Fleet” could reinforce distributed maritime operations while helping reform U.S. shipbuilding.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen — January 9, 2026

What the New National Security Strategy Means for Naval Forces

The 2025 National Security Strategy recasts naval power as an economic and industrial instrument, pushing the Navy toward unmanned systems, hemispheric missions, and more cost-effective approaches to deterring China.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen, Mackenzie Eaglen, and Henry H. Carroll — December 18, 2025

Ghost Busters: Options for Breaking Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Countering Russia’s ghost fleet requires more than sanctions. A coordinated strategy using open-source intelligence, maritime law, and multilateral diplomacy can impose real costs on illicit trade networks fueling Moscow’s war—without escalating military conflict.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen and Jose M. Macias III — December 15, 2025

Audio Briefs

Will Trump’s Peace Plan for Ukraine Succeed?

An audio version of "⁠Will Trump’s Peace Plan for Ukraine Succeed?⁠," a new Critical Questions by CSIS's Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan — November 21, 2025

Audio Briefs

The U.S. Army and a Second Manhattan Project for AI

To win the AI race, the U.S. Army must again serve as a national integrator—mobilizing talent, securing infrastructure, and modernizing forces, just as it did during the original Manhattan Project.

Commentary by Jake S. Kwon and Benjamin Jensen — November 21, 2025

Will Trump’s Peace Plan for Ukraine Succeed?

Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine could open the door to negotiations—but its territorial concessions, weak security guarantees, and amnesty provisions risk making the deal collapse before it begins.

Critical Questions by Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan — November 21, 2025

Russia’s Intense Air Campaign in October

Russia's recent missile strikes indicate a transition in strategy and doctrine, where industrial capacity plays a growing role in determining battlefield dynamics. Massed salvos have given way to a more flexible strike schedule, necessitating an adaptive defensive strategy.

Commentary by Yasir Atalan, Erik Tiersten-Nyman, and Benjamin Jensen — November 14, 2025