Full Name
Courtney Stewart
Position
Deputy Director, Defence Strategy Program
Organisation
ASPI
Speaker Bio
Courtney Stewart is the Deputy Director of the Defence Strategy Program at ASPI. She is a senior defence and security professional with 20 years of experience across the US and Australian Departments of Defence, think tanks, and the defence industry. Her current work focuses on advancing new coalition-based approaches to deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening Australia’s national defence strategy, and contributing to major defence initiatives shaping the future of force structure, capability delivery, and regional security cooperation.
Before joining ASPI, Courtney held senior advisory roles in the Australian Department of Defence, including at the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and Army Headquarters. From 2015 to 2018, she served as the US Department of Defense Policy Exchange Officer to the Australian Strategic Policy Division. Prior to her posting, she held numerous roles in the Pentagon, including Country Director for Korea, Senior Advisor for Preparedness Policy, Nuclear Deterrence Policy Analyst and as a member of the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review staff. She was the lead author and chief US negotiator of the 2013 US–ROK Tailored Deterrence Strategy Against North Korean Nuclear and Other WMD Threats—the first codified extended deterrence strategy with any US ally. She helped establish the US–ROK Extended Deterrence Policy Committee Working Group and the original US–Japan Extended Deterrence Dialogue. Her contributions were recognised with a US Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2015.
Earlier in her career, she worked at the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration as a Non-Proliferation Fellow and held research roles at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Harvard University’s Managing the Atom Project.
A recognised thought leader in defence strategy, Courtney bridges conceptual innovation with practical policy impact. Recent publications include Think Bigger, Act Larger: A U.S.-Australia Led Coalition for a Combined Joint Deterrence Force in the Indo-Pacific (Carnegie Endowment, 2024), and Australian Deterrence: Land Power’s Contribution to the Integrated Force (Australian Army Journal, Volume 20 Number 2, November 2024). Courtney is a frequent speaker at strategic forums and a contributor to platforms such as War on the Rocks and Australian Foreign Affairs.
She holds an MA in Science and Security from King’s College London (with Merit), and a BA in political science and history from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated with highest departmental honours.
Courtney is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC.
Before joining ASPI, Courtney held senior advisory roles in the Australian Department of Defence, including at the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and Army Headquarters. From 2015 to 2018, she served as the US Department of Defense Policy Exchange Officer to the Australian Strategic Policy Division. Prior to her posting, she held numerous roles in the Pentagon, including Country Director for Korea, Senior Advisor for Preparedness Policy, Nuclear Deterrence Policy Analyst and as a member of the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review staff. She was the lead author and chief US negotiator of the 2013 US–ROK Tailored Deterrence Strategy Against North Korean Nuclear and Other WMD Threats—the first codified extended deterrence strategy with any US ally. She helped establish the US–ROK Extended Deterrence Policy Committee Working Group and the original US–Japan Extended Deterrence Dialogue. Her contributions were recognised with a US Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2015.
Earlier in her career, she worked at the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration as a Non-Proliferation Fellow and held research roles at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Harvard University’s Managing the Atom Project.
A recognised thought leader in defence strategy, Courtney bridges conceptual innovation with practical policy impact. Recent publications include Think Bigger, Act Larger: A U.S.-Australia Led Coalition for a Combined Joint Deterrence Force in the Indo-Pacific (Carnegie Endowment, 2024), and Australian Deterrence: Land Power’s Contribution to the Integrated Force (Australian Army Journal, Volume 20 Number 2, November 2024). Courtney is a frequent speaker at strategic forums and a contributor to platforms such as War on the Rocks and Australian Foreign Affairs.
She holds an MA in Science and Security from King’s College London (with Merit), and a BA in political science and history from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated with highest departmental honours.
Courtney is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC.
Speaking At
