Areas of Expertise: Countering WMD; Biological & Chemical Defense
Dr. W. Seth Carus is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of National Security Policy at the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at the National Defense University. He was on NDU’s faculty from 1997 through 2017, serving from 2003 to 2013 as the Center's Deputy Director. From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Carus was detailed to the Office of the Vice President at the White House, where he was the Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Biodefense. Before joining NDU, Dr. Carus worked at the Center for Naval Analyses (1994 to 1997), the Policy Planning staff in the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense (1991 to 1994), and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Dr. Carus’ work has focused primarily on issues related to biological and chemical warfare. His current research focuses on the history of chemical and biological warfare. He is author of A Short History of Biological Warfare: From Pre-History to the 21st Century (2017), “The History of Biological Warfare: What We Know and What We Don’t” in Health Security (2015), and Defining “Weapons of Mass Destruction”, Revised and Updated (2012), as well as the working paper Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: The Illicit Use of Biological Agents Since 1900 (2001). He is the co-author of The Future of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Their Nature and Role in 2030 (2014).
Dr. Carus has a Ph.D. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University.
Publications:
- W. Seth Carus, "Book Review: Dirty War: Rhodesia and Chemical Biological Warfare 1975-1980," Prism, Volume 7 no 3.
- W. Seth Carus, "The History of Biological Weapons Use: What We Know and What We Don’t". Health Security, 13.4 (2015): 219-55.
- W. Seth Carus, “Defining ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’,” CSWMD Occasional Paper, No. 8, January 2012.
- Paul I. Bernstein, John P. Caves, Jr., and W. Seth Carus, “Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: Looking Back, Looking Ahead,” CSWMD Occasional Paper, No. 7, October 2009.
- W. Seth Carus, "Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: the Illicit Use of Biological Arms in the 20th century". CSWMD Working Paper, revised February 2001.