Garrett Hinck is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Columbia University, specializing in International Relations, and a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University. His research examines the effects of technology on secrecy, signaling, and arms control, connecting Cold War nuclear competition with contemporary debates over emerging technologies and the future of strategic stability.
His dissertation, “Signaling Secrets: Strategic Intelligence, Technology, and the Sources and Methods Dilemma,” examines the conditions under which intelligence collection technologies enable leaders to disclose covertly acquired information about rivals’ capabilities. His research considers both Cold War technical espionage and emerging technologies, including AI-enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and space-based situational awareness.
He was an AIxNuclear Fellow at the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab and the Council on Strategic Risks from 2025 to 2026 and a Hans J. Morgenthau Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Notre Dame from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he worked at the RAND Corporation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
His work has appeared in War on the Rocks, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Lawfare, the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, and The Washington Post, as well as in publications by the RAND Corporation, the Council on Strategic Risks, and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. He holds a BS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
