George Tanham
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George K. Tanham (1922-2003) was an expert on international security issues, especially regarding South Asia.
Early life
[edit]A native of Tenafly, New Jersey, Tanham was a graduate of Princeton University. He served as an artillery officer in Europe during World War II and was a decorated combat veteran.[citation needed]
Academic and professional career
[edit]After receiving his Ph.D. in history and political science from Stanford University, he taught military history at Caltech before joining RAND.[citation needed]
Tanham joined the American RAND Corporation in 1955 and held several positions before retiring in 1987, including leading Project AIR FORCE, i.e., the RAND liaison to the United States Air Force, from 1970 to 1975.[1] He also served on the RAND Board of Trustees and was an advisory trustee at the time of his death.[citation needed]
Tanham's career in government included serving as associate director for counterinsurgency of the U.S Agency for International Development in South Vietnam from 1964 to 1965, and as special assistant for counterinsurgency to the American ambassador in Thailand from 1968 to 1970.[citation needed]
In the course of his career, Tanham received numerous fellowships and grants; served on various U.S. government committees; was editor-in-chief of the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism;[citation needed] and wrote several books.
His book, Communist Revolutionary Warfare: From the Vietminh to the Viet Cong,[2] has been cited 222 times.
His essay, "Indian Strategic Thought",[3] was "One of the most influential views on modern Indian strategic culture," according to George J. Gilboy and Eric Heginbotham.[4] That article has been cited 95 times, (see Google Scholar), including Conley (2001),[5] and other scholarly publications.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Elliott, Duong Van Mai (2010). RAND in Southeast Asia: A History of the Vietnam War Era. RAND. pp. 35–37. ISBN 9780833047540. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ Tanham, George K. (2006). Communist Revolutionary Warfare: From the Vietminh to the Viet Cong. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ "Indian Strategic Thought". Washington Quarterly. 15 (Winter 1992): 131.
- ^ Gilboy, George J.; Heginbotham, Eric (March 12, 2012). Chinese and Indian Strategic Behavior: Growing Power and Alarm. Cambridge University Press. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9781107020054. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ Conley, Jerome M. (2001). Indo-Russian Military and Nuclear Cooperation: Lessons and Options for U.S. Policy in South Asia. Lexington Books. p. 102. ISBN 9780739102176. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ van de Wetering, Carina (2019). India as an Emerging Power: Understanding its Meaning, in The Changing Global Order: Challenges and Prospects. Springer International. p. 114. ISBN 9783030216030. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
