Brent Durbin

Brent Durbin is Associate Professor of Government at Smith College, where he teaches courses in U.S. foreign policy, strategic intelligence, military conflict and culture, and international relations. Durbin's research centers on the political and organizational dynamics of U.S. national security, with a particular focus on the CIA. His book The CIA and the Politics of U.S. Intelligence Reform was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017.

Durbin has held research fellowships at Stanford University, the University of California, The George Washington University, and Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge. He is co-director of the Bridging the Gap Project, which promotes connections between scholars and the broader foreign policy community.

Prior to joining the Smith faculty, Durbin taught in the public policy program at Stanford University. He also has served as press secretary for a U.S. senator, and as an adviser and senior staff member on several campaigns for U.S. Congress.