Jim Smith began teaching as an adjunct professor for the Bush School of Government and Public Service in January 2009 in the CAIA program.
Jim completed an active-duty career as an Air Force pilot, planner, and academic in 1993 that included combat duty in Southeast Asia and operations plans assignments with responsibility for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He also completed faculty assignments at the Air Force Special Operations School, the Air Command and Staff College, and West Point, where he also served as associate dean for Academic Research. Jim is currently director of the Air Force Institute for National Security Studies and a professor on the faculty at the Air Force Academy. He also holds an adjunct teaching appointment at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Denver University.
Jim holds his BS from the Air Force Academy and his MS from the University of Southern California. He completed his doctorate in public policy at the University of Alabama, where his dissertation focused on defense policy agenda setting across the presidential election process. His publications address terrorism, arms control and proliferation, military culture and cohesion, and strategic leader development. He has received several research awards from the Air Force Academy and the Institute for National Security Studies, and he was awarded the Air Force Association Citation of Honor for research and publication. His current publications include "Strategic Analysis, WMD Terrorism, and Deterrence by Denial" in Deterring Terrorism (2011), "Proliferation Interactions among Rogue States, Networks, and Terrorists: The Demand Side" in Terrorism Causes, Concepts, and Effects (2011), and "Nuclear Conflict and the American Way of War" in On Limited Nuclear Warfare in the 21st Century (2011). He is also co-editor of Combating Proliferation in a Dangerous World (2011).
