Paul Stockton, a CISAC senior research scholar, answered questions about the National Guard and tackling U.S.-Mexico border violence during his May 12 confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

Stockton, 54, has been nominated for assistant secretary of defense (homeland defense and America's security affairs) in the Department of Defense. In addition to Stockton, nominees Andrew C. Weber, Thomas R. Lamont and Charles A. Blanchard also answered questions during the two-hour hearing chaired by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan.

A quorum of the 26-member armed services committee must now reach consensus on whether to send the nominees' names to the U.S. Senate for consideration, a process that could take about two weeks.

Stockton, who has spent the last three years at CISAC, formerly was the associate provost at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Ca., and was the founding director of its Center for Homeland Defense and Security. His research at CISAC focuses on how U.S. security institutions respond to changes in the threat environment, including the rise of terrorism, and the interaction between Congress and the executive branch in restructuring national security budgets, policies and institutional arrangements. He co-teaches CISAC's Honors Program, which assists Stanford seniors in writing theses on international security.

"Paul embodies everything we strive for at CISAC," said acting Co-Director Lynn Eden. "The homeland security forums he ran here were an excellent bridge between scholarship and public policy. Paul's scholarly contributions gave him intellectual resources I'm confident will contribute to his effectiveness in government. It's clear he is an extraordinary manager."

CISAC Co-Director Scott Sagan added, "Paul Stockton has both a deep understanding of the national security and homeland security challenges we face today and fresh ideas on how best to meet them. He would make a superb assistant secretary of defense."

As an assistant secretary, Stockton would be responsible for developing policy for what is called "Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection," and would coordinate closely with the private sector on protection issues. The assistant secretary also serves as the Department of Defense's domestic crisis manager, and is the principal civilian advisor to the defense secretary for both Western hemisphere security affairs and for defense support to civilian authorities. In that capacity, the assistant secretary works with federal, state and local government officials, the private sector and academic to support their efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness.

Stockton, a native of Los Angeles, joined the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in August 1990. From 1995 until 2000, he served as director of its Center for Civil-Military Relations. From 2000-2001, he founded and served as the acting dean of its School of International Graduate Studies. He was appointed associate provost in 2001.

Stockton is co-editor of Homeland Security, a graduate text to be published by Oxford University Press. He serves on the editorial review board of Homeland Security Affairs, the quarterly journal he helped establish in 2005. His research has appeared in Political Science Quarterly, International Security and Strategic Survey. He is co-editor of Reconstituting America's Defense: America's New National Security Strategy (1992). He has also contributed chapters to a number of books, including U.S. Foreign Policy After the Cold War (1997).

From 1986 to 1989 Stockton served as legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-NY. Stockton was Moynihan's personal representative on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and was principal advisor to the senator on defense, intelligence, counter-narcotics policy and foreign affairs.

Stockton was a CISAC postdoctoral fellow in 1989-1990. During his graduate studies at Harvard, he served as a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Stockton earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in 1976 and a doctorate in government from Harvard in 1986.

Stockton is married to Missy Stockton. They have two sons.