Dr. Eric Rudenshiold

Dr. Eric Rudenshiold is the Senior Fellow for Caspian Affairs and served under Presidents Trump and Biden as National Security Council Director for Central Asia. He has extensive experience on a range of foreign policy issues, including democracy and human rights, international affairs and development, and counter terrorism. His areas of regional expertise include the Caucasus and Central Asia, Eurasia/Europe, and multilateral organizations. From his work at the NSC, on Capitol Hill and at USAID, Dr. Rudenshiold brings hands-on knowledge of Washington’s institutional and political environment to the Caspian Policy Center. At the NSC he received three awards of distinction and guided the U.S. inter-agency policy process on U.S. interests in Central Asia; national security issues including on counter-terrorism, Russia, Iran and China; and Trans-Caspian and Caucasus issues.

Prior to serving at the NSC, Dr. Rudenshiold served in a variety of capacities for the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2007 to 2018, including: acting roles as Deputy Assistant Administrator, Country Office Director, Director for South/Central Asia, Senior Officer in Charge for Central Asia, and Senior Adviser. He received numerous Superior Honor and other awards during his tenure with the U.S. Government. Before joining USAID, he served in senior diplomatic roles with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as with UNDP and a number of assistance implementers. Having lived and worked overseas for more than a dozen years, including in the former-Soviet Union, he has extensive experience across the Europe and Eurasia region. Dr. Rudenshiold also worked as a journalist and editor, has published broadly and is a frequent speaker and lecturer. He taught graduate-level courses at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs from 2009 to 2018. His PhD in International Affairs was awarded from the University of Virginia.