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Cara Abercrombie

Former Visiting Scholar, South Asia Program

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About


Cara Abercrombie is no longer with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Cara Abercrombie was a visiting scholar with Carnegie’s South Asia Program, on temporary assignment from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She focuses on U.S. security interests in Asia, particularly opportunities for greater U.S.-India defense cooperation.

Abercrombie is a career member of the U.S. government’s Senior Executive Service, with more than a decade of service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. At the Defense Department, she has worked predominantly on Asia policy, most recently serving as deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia. She has also served as principal director for East Asia policy, South Asia director, and senior India country director. From 2013 to 2014, Abercrombie was special assistant to the secretary of defense for national security policy. Prior to entering government, Abercrombie worked to support civil society organizations and political party development in Eurasia with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. 


Affiliations

  • South Asia

Areas of Expertise

Foreign PolicySouth AsiaEast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSecuritySecurityMilitaryForeign Policy

Education

BA, Dartmouth College, MPA, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Languages

English, Finnish

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