Daniel Byman

Director, Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program
Daniel Byman

Daniel Byman is the director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the foreign policy editor for Lawfare. He has served as a senior adviser to the Department of State on the International Security Advisory Board and held positions at the Brookings Institution, the RAND Corporation, the U.S. intelligence community, the 9/11 Commission, and the Joint 9/11 Inquiry Staff of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Dr. Byman is a leading researcher and has written widely on a range of topics related to terrorism, insurgency, intelligence, social media, artificial intelligence, and the Middle East. He is the author of nine books, including Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism (Oxford, 2022); Road Warriors: Foreign Fighters in the Armies of Jihad (Oxford, 2019); Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Global Jihadist Movement: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford, 2015); and A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2011). He is the author or coauthor of almost 200 academic and policy articles, monographs, and book chapters, as well as numerous opinion pieces in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other leading journals. Dr. Byman is a graduate of Amherst College and received his PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Spreading Hate

Spreading Hate

Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism examines the evolution of the white power movement around the world, explaining its appeal and the threat it poses as well as many failures. In this sweeping, authoritative account, Daniel Byman traces the key moments in the white power movement's evolution in the United States and around the world and then details its many facets today. Using a wide range of sources, Byman explodes several myths about white power terrorism and exposes dangerous gaps in current policies.

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Strengthening National Security Resilience in Japan

Japan has many strengths that give it tremendous potential for resilience. However, further investments are required to bolster relatively undeveloped elements of national security resilience that China or another foe may seek to exploit.

Report by Daniel Byman, Nicholas Szechenyi, and Riley McCabe — December 18, 2025

Questions to Ask After a Terrorist Attack

Confusion reigns after a terrorist attack. Initial reporting is often flawed, and misperceptions endure even after being debunked by experts. Asking the right questions can help policymakers, journalists, and the public distinguish signal from noise, avoid costly overreaction, and prepare for future threats.

Commentary by Daniel Byman — December 16, 2025

Improving U.S. Cooperation with Allies and Partners

To make the most of its vast network of allies and partners, the United States must understand the barriers inhibiting U.S.-allied cooperation and devise ways to overcome them.

Report by Daniel Byman, Alexander Palmer, Audrey Aldisert, Henry H. Carroll, Cynthia R. Cook, Chris H. Park, and Seth G. Jones — October 14, 2025

Ideological Trends in U.S. Terrorism

The Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program examines the state of terrorism in the U.S., finding left-wing violence has risen in the last decade but from very low levels and still well below historic levels of violence by right-wing and jihadist actors.

Analysis by Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe — September 26, 2025

Will, Cohesion, Resilience, and the Wars of the Future

In both Ukraine and Israel, the story of resilience is not only about battlefield endurance but also the mobilization of society—military, civilian, technological, and psychological—to resist aggression and maintain national cohesion.

Commentary by Daniel Byman — September 16, 2025

Audio Briefs

Will, Cohesion, Resilience, and the Wars of the Future

An audio version of “⁠Will, Cohesion, Resilience, and the Wars of the Future⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Daniel Byman. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Daniel Byman — September 16, 2025

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The Evolution of Irregular Warfare

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have demonstrated that irregular warfare is a defining feature of contemporary conflict and a strategic domain in its own right. Ignoring it would be a grave miscalculation in an era of persistent geopolitical competition.

Commentary by Daniel Byman, Seth G. Jones, and Sofia Triana — September 16, 2025

Audio Briefs

The Evolution of Irregular Warfare

An audio version of “⁠⁠The Evolution of Irregular Warfare⁠⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Daniel Byman, Seth G. Jones, and Sofia Triana. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Daniel Byman, Seth G. Jones, and Sofia Triana — September 16, 2025

Audio Briefs