James Lewis

SVP, Director, Strategic Technology Program, CSIS

James Lewis writes on technology and public policy at CSIS, where he is a Senior Vice President and directs the Strategic Technologies Program.  Before joining CSIS, he was a diplomat and a member of the Senior Executive Service with extensive politico-military, negotiating, and regulatory experience. Lewis developed groundbreaking policies on remote sensing, encryption, high-tech exports to China, and cybersecurity. He helped organize the Wassenaar Arrangement and led the first U.S. delegation to its Experts Group.

Lewis was a senior advisor for four UN Groups of Governmental Experts on Information Security and his work on norms to build stability in cyberspace is foundational. He leads a long-running track 2 dialogue with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. Lewis has authored numerous publications on technology since coming to CSIS, is frequently quoted in the media, and has testified numerous times before Congress.  He shas been a member of several Federal advisory committees, serves on the board of a network services company, is the recipient of several awards.  He received his PhD from the University of Chicago.