About
Michael Brenes is the Co-Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and a Lecturer in History at Yale University. His research focuses on 20th-century American foreign policy, political history, and political economy. He has authored multiple books, including For Might and Right (2020), co-edited volumes such as Rethinking U.S. Power (2024), and is currently finalizing a co-authored work on great-power competition (The Rivalry Peril, 2025) and a history of the War on Terror. His writing has appeared in major publications like Foreign Affairs and The New York Times.
- Co-Director, Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy
- Lecturer, Department of History
His research examines how U.S. foreign policy interacts with domestic political and economic structures, particularly during the Cold War and contemporary eras. He critiques how great-power competition undermines democratic norms and explores the long-term consequences of militarized state policies. Current projects include a Cold War liberalism anthology with Daniel Bessner (Cambridge UP, pending) and a historical analysis of post-1990s counterterrorism strategies.
Brenes' work bridges academic scholarship with public discourse, addressing timely issues such as the erosion of democratic institutions under geopolitical pressures. His publications emphasize interdisciplinary approaches, combining political history with economic analysis to explain shifting power dynamics.
