The General David H. Petraeus Center for Emerging Leaders
The Petraeus Center invests in strengthening the future cadre of America’s leaders through education, intellectual development, and hands-on leadership development.
The Petraeus Center Mission
The Petraeus Center selects, develops, and launches emerging national security leaders. It is a vibrant hub for educating students, fellows, and the wider community of national security professionals, offering a coherent development pipeline across the duration of a career. Petraeus Center fellows and alumni are active participants in solving American national security challenges through nonpartisan, fact-based analysis, transforming the dialogue on national security.
Petraeus Center
The Petraeus Center houses ISW’s educational programs
Educating A New Generation of Leaders
ISW prepares a generation of national security leaders for the 21st century. ISW has embraced a generational approach to national security. The United States did not expect to win the Cold War in a single presidential term, but rather invested deeply in a long-term strategy for success.
The Petraeus Center deepens the bench of educated future leaders committed to America’s national security and unique role in the world through education, intellectual development, and hands-on leadership development. The center equips future leaders with the intellectual framework they will need to serve ethically as national security leaders. It is focused on emerging talent, particularly advanced undergraduates and distinguished entry- and mid-level professionals in the national security field.
The Petraeus Center bridges the civil-military divide in both wartime and peacetime, cultivating civilian leaders literate in military affairs. Petraeus Center alumni understand the links between policy and military operations, from the grand strategic to the tactical.
Dr. Brian Babcock-Lumish is the Recanati-Kaplan Chair and Director of the Center.
The Petraeus Center’s Impact as of 2024
12
Hertog War Studies Cohorts
220
Hertog War Studies Program Alumni
600+
Interns trained at ISW
15
Staff rides conducted
Honoring General David H. Petraeus, US Army (ret)
ISW launched The General David H. Petraeus Center for Emerging Leaders in 2020 to honor ISW board member General Petraeus and his cultivation of exceptionally talented national security leaders across his career. General Petraeus was the inaugural recipient of ISW’s National Security Leadership Award in 2011, recognizing his lifetime of service in uniform and at the Central Intelligence Agency. Since joining ISW’s Board of Directors, he has been a vital source of guidance and wisdom to the ISW organization’s leadership team. The Petraeus Center embodies core values that ISW and General Petraeus share: service to the nation, independence, developing young talent, and creative problem solving.
Clockwise, left: Gen. David Petraeus (ret.) speaks at ISW's Security Conference; Gen. Petraeus (ret.), Gen. Jack Keane (ret.), and ISW President Dr. Kimberly Kagan present former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates the National Security Leadership Award; ISW's Jennifer Cafarella briefs Gen. Petraeus (ret.); Gen. Petraeus (ret.) records an episode of ISW's Overwatch; Gen. Keane (ret.) and Gen. Petraeus (ret.) pose.
biography
General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.)
General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.) is a Partner at KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute. He is the co-author (with British historian Andrew Roberts) of the New York Times best-selling book Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza. Prior to joining KKR, General Petraeus served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands as a general officer, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of U.S. Central Command, and command of coalition forces in Afghanistan. Following retirement from the military, he served as Director of the CIA. General Petraeus graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Academy, earned a Ph.D. in international relations and economics from Princeton University, and taught both subjects at the U.S. Military Academy. He is a member of the board of directors of the Institute for the Study of War and was the inaugural recipient of ISW’s National Security Leadership Award. Among his many other awards, he was named one of America’s 25 Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report, a runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, and the Daily Telegraph man of the year. He has also been decorated by 14 foreign countries and he is believed to be the only person who, while in uniform, threw out the first pitch of a World Series game and did the coin toss for a Super Bowl.
THE HERTOG
WAR STUDIES PROGAM
The Hertog War Studies Program is an intensive two-week program run by the Institute for the Study of War in coordination with the Hertog Foundation in Washington DC. The program aims to educate advanced undergraduate students about the theory, practice, organization, and control of war and military forces. Students will learn from and interact with distinguished senior leaders in the national security and military communities. This course bridges the civil-military divide and teaches students at the start of their careers how to assess military decision-making.
It honestly all started at ISW… I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the Pentagon…and become a reservist Civil Affairs officer in the US Army…I am now a deputy director in Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Sustainment), as well as a direct commission to Captain in the US Army Reserve—currently deployed overseas. The dreams I sketched out on the Metro home one day from my internship at ISW came true, and ISW set that foundation.
Heather Price | Deputy Director, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Sustainment) / ISW Intern Spring 2010
HWSP has supplemented my military training and education in an invaluable way—as a junior officer, you are rarely, if ever, introduced to some of the works and concepts explored in HWSP so early in your career. Being able to study topics including Clausewitzian theory, operational art, and hybrid [warfare] in depth with brilliant peers and incredible instructors provides much-needed context and knowledge that allows you to think about and attack issues differently and in a more informed way. My professional understanding as a military officer is undoubtedly stronger having gone through the Hertog War Studies Program, and it shows when engaging with higher echelons, senior leaders, and complex problem sets.
LEO LI | Captain, US Army / HWSP ‘20
Learning how to rapidly and accurately analyze and communicate information will be invaluable for the next stage of my career. The responsibilities and opportunities I had at the start of my career on ISW’s China Team…to develop my analytic, managerial, and teaching proficiencies provide a firm foundation for future professional opportunities.
Nils Peterson | ‘24 Marshall Scholar / HWSP ‘21 / War Studies Fellow 2022-2024
Developing Leaders
Petraeus Center Fellowships
The prestigious, hands-on fellowships offer emerging leaders in national security a rigorous foundation for advancing their professional careers. Through close collaboration with our full-time staff, fellows gain comprehensive experience in national security analysis, technical innovation, forecasting, intelligence collection, research, and writing. They also develop exceptional briefing and communication skills.
Investing in the Next Generation
Internship PROGRAM
The Petraeus Center is committed to developing the next generation of national security leaders through its innovative internship program. ISW offers a wide range of research internships within the Keane Center covering Russia, China, the Middle East, and Geospatial Intelligence. ISW also offers internships across its other departments, including External Relations, Development, and the Petraeus Center.
The GENERAL JACK KEANE
Center for National Security
Many of the emerging leaders in the Petraeus Center hone their open-source intelligence analysis skills through fellowships and internships in the General Jack Keane Center for National Security, which houses the Geospatial Intelligence Team, Russia Team, China Team, and Middle East Team.
