Research Staff
Senior Research Fellow
Having worked in the private sector, the military, and on Capitol Hill, Tim Welter brings valuable experience in national security and defense policy to the Institute. After serving on active duty in the Air Force for several years, he worked on Capitol Hill as Legislative Director for two different Members of Congress and later as a Professional Staff Member with the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Upon leaving the Hill, Tim worked with the foreign and defense policy research team at the American Enterprise Institute. He later completed a research fellowship at the National War College during which he finished his Ph.D. dissertation in Political Science with the University of Missouri, writing about the political nature of defense policy in Congress.
A U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, Tim holds Master’s degrees in Political Science, National Security Strategy, and Management. Just prior to joining the Institute, Tim served at the Pentagon where he helped stand up an organization dedicated to future force design and the development of capabilities and concepts required to meet emerging national security challenges.
Areas of expertise
Awaiting client content · Areas of expertise not listed on the official bio.
Related work
Publications
Economic Security
This book grew out of several years of work under the Institute's Global Competition Project. Its chapters expand on an 11-part article series with War on the Rocks, exploring how the United States might evolve contemporary economic statecraft into strategy and practice.
Tim Welter (ed.), Jennifer Buss (ed.), Kimberly Sloan (ed.)
Economic Security
The final article in an 11-part series with War on the Rocks examining how the United States should organize, lead, and integrate economic statecraft into strategy, defense practice, and the broader national security ecosystem.
Tim Welter
Economic Security
On October 23-24, 2025, the Institute and Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service hosted the Fifth Annual Summit on Economic Statecraft, “Navigating a Reset of the Global Economic Order.” Analysis of the discussions resulted in seven key themes with eleven recommendations.
Tim Welter, Jason Blessing, William Norris, Joshua Stinson
Economic Security
Economic Security
There was once a time when it was assumed that China would move toward liberal democratic institutions and, with that, pursue a more open capitalist economy. This assumption was based on the argument that as China grew richer through capital investment and market-driven economic expansion, its population’s values and outlook would become more Westernized.
Francis A. Finelli, Timothy Welter, PhD
Emerging Technology
On August 20, 2024, the Institute convened a panel of experts to explore intersections of biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and national security consequential to America's competitive posture.
Tim Welter, Claire Caherty, Jason Blessing
