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Philip Brenner Prof Emeritus School of International Service

Contact
(202) 885-1605 (Office)
Wednesday: 1:00 - 2:15 p.m., and
Thursday: 3:00 - 5:15 and 8:15 - 9:15 p.m.
Additional Positions at AU
Affiliate Professor of History
Degrees
PhD, The Johns Hopkins University in political science; BA, Columbia University in history

Bio
Dr. Philip Brenner has published widely on U.S./Cuba relations, U.S./Latin American relations, contemporary U.S. foreign policy, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. His most recent book is Cuba Libre: A 500-Year Quest for Independence, co-authored with Peter Eisner [Rowman and Littlefield].
See Also
Cuba Libre
A Long Legacy of Distrust and the Future of Cuban-US Relations
”Cuba 2017: The End of an Era”
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

Dr. Brenner specializes in the U.S. foreign policy process with an emphasis on Congress, and in U.S. policy toward Latin America.

Executive Experience

  • Member, Advisory Board of the National Security Archive
  • Executive Committee, Latin American Studies Association (Cuba Section) 

Selected Publications

  • A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution, co-edited with Marguerite Rose Jiménez, John Kirk, and William LeoGrande. Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

U.S. foreign policy, Latin America with emphasis on the Caribbean and Cuba, U.S.-Cuban relations, Congress and foreign policy, presidential decision making on foreign policy, Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Cuban Missile Crisis

Additional Information

Philip Brenner is a senior professor in the U.S. Foreign Policy program specializing in U.S.-Cuban relations and Latin America. A former chair of American University's Council on Latin America, he also has served as director of the U.S. Foreign Policy program, senior associate dean for academic affairs, and chair of the Department of International Politics and Foreign Policy. A specialist in U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America, he has been engaged since 1974 in research and writing about Cuba and U.S.-Cuban relations. His most recent book is A Contemporary Cuba Reader: The Revolution Under Raul Castro (2014), A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution(2007). His 2002 study, Sad and Luminous Days: Cuba’s Struggle with the Superpowers after the Missile Crisis (Rowman and Littlefield), with James G. Blight, explores the Cuban missile crisis from the Cuban perspective and exposes a secret speech Castro delivered to the Cuban leadership in 1968. Brenner is also the author of From Confrontation to Negotiation: U.S. Relations with Cuba(1988). Since 1985, Brenner has served on the advisory board of the National Security Archive and has been involved in the archive's efforts to declassify and disseminate documents about U.S. foreign policy, including those related to the Cuban missile crisis. He also is a member of the advisory boards of the National Security Archive and Center for Democracy in the Americas and the editorial board of the journal Pensamiento Propio. Brenner has been interviewed by the major networks and international media and has been a guest on numerous talk shows to discuss contemporary patterns of U.S. foreign policy.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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