Charles Edel

Senior Adviser and Australia Chair
Charles Edel

Charles Edel is a senior adviser and the inaugural Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He previously taught at the University of Sydney, where he was also a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre. Prior to that, Dr. Edel was a professor of strategy and policy at the U.S. Naval War College and served on the U.S. secretary of state’s Policy Planning Staff from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he advised the secretary of state on political and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. He has also been a global fellow at the Wilson Center and a Henry Luce scholar at Peking University's Center for International and Strategic Studies, and he was awarded the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship. He is the coauthor of The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order (Yale University Press, 2019) and author of Nation Builder: John Quincy Adams and the Grand Strategy of the Republic (Harvard University Press, 2014). Currently, he is working on a book examining the United States' history of dealing with authoritarian regimes. In addition to his scholarly publications, his writings appear in the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and various other outlets. He also regularly offers foreign policy commentary on television and radio, including CNBC, ABC, Sky News, Australia’s RN, and NPR. He is a New York native and former high school history teacher in New York City, as well as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserves. Dr. Edel holds a PhD in history from Yale University and received a BA in classics from Yale College.

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State of Play

What are CSIS experts' boldest geopolitical predictions in 2026?

12 CSIS experts join Will to share significant developments in different parts of the world in 2025, and predictions for 2026.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Ryan C. Berg, Max Bergmann, Victor Cha, Thomas J. Christensen, Charles Edel, Kristi Govella, Henrietta Levin, Bonny Lin, Oge Onubogu, Gregory B. Poling, Richard M. Rossow, and Mona Yacoubian — January 15, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Indo-Pacific Forecast 2026

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy (GFP) Department's annual preview of political, economic, and security developments across the region.

Event — January 14, 2026

Audio Briefs

What to Expect from the Trump-Albanese White House Meeting

An audio version of “⁠What to Expect from the Trump-Albanese White House Meeting⁠,” a new Critical Questions by CSIS’s Charles Edel. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Charles Edel — October 15, 2025

Audio Briefs
Audio Briefs

How the Historic Australia-PNG Pukpuk Treaty Could Reshape Pacific Security

An audio version of "⁠How the Historic Australia-PNG Pukpuk Treaty Could Reshape Pacific Security⁠," a new Critical Questions by CSIS's Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik — October 14, 2025

Audio Briefs

Responding to Trump’s New Foreign Policy Paradigm

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy (GFP) Department for a discussion of the ways in which U.S. allies and partners around the world are navigating the Trump administration’s policies.

Event — October 6, 2025

Pacific Perspectives on Trump’s Second Term: Uncertainty and Adaptation

With Washington prioritizing America First, partners across the Pacific are weighing their options. Perceptions of a capricious and transactional Washington are creating pressure to reconsider long-standing assumptions about the alliance.

Commentary by Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, and John Augé — October 6, 2025

Audio Briefs

Pacific Perspectives on Trump’s Second Term: Uncertainty and Adaptation

An audio version of “⁠Pacific Perspectives on Trump’s Second Term: Uncertainty and Adaptation⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, and John Augé. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, and John Augé — October 6, 2025

Audio Briefs