The Dickey Center is thrilled to welcome Dr. Karin von Hippel as our Spring ’26 Magro Family Distinguished Visitor in International Affairs.
Dr. von Hippel joins us following a distinguished nine-year tenure as the Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, the world’s oldest defense and security think tank. Her arrival brings a wealth of global expertise to Dartmouth, spanning high-level diplomacy, conflict reconstruction, and the intersection of technology and geopolitics.
Prior to her leadership at RUSI, Dr. von Hippel served for nearly six years in the U.S. Department of State in several pivotal roles, including:
- Chief of Staff to the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter-ISIL.
- Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.
- Senior Adviser in the Bureau of Counterterrorism.
Her career is defined by a unique blend of academic rigor and “on-the-ground” experience. She has worked for the United Nations and the European Union in Somalia and Kosovo, with direct experience in over two dozen conflict zones.
An accomplished author, her book Democracy by Force: US Military Intervention in the Post-Cold War World was short-listed for the RUSI Westminster Medal in Military History. Dr. von Hippel currently manages a diverse portfolio focusing on geopolitics, defence, open-source intelligence and advanced technology, and serves as a Trustee for the European Leadership Network. She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, an MSt from Oxford University, and a BA from Yale University.
“We are incredibly fortunate to welcome Karin to the Dickey Center. Her career represents the exact kind of bridge between rigorous scholarship and high-stakes international policy that we strive to share with our students. From her leadership of one of the world’s premier think tanks to her deep expertise in conflict zones, Karin offers a rare, first-hand perspective on the evolving security challenges of our time. Her presence on campus will be a transformative resource for the Dartmouth community,” said Victoria Holt, Dickey Center Director.
While at Dartmouth, Dr. von Hippel will teach INTS 80.08: Military Intervention & Stabilization Operations, an engaging exploration of America’s complex history with state-building. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has often swung between ambitious overseas interventions and periods of pulling back—usually after things didn’t go as planned. In this course, students will dive into these conflicts and the post-war operations to debate a fundamental question: can military force actually deliver the peace and stability it promises? Students will also grapple with the best ways to help global communities thrive in an era of uncertainty.
