Expert Bio

James P. DeHart is a 2026-2027 Wilson Center Research Fellow.

DeHart is an experienced diplomat with more than 33 years at the U.S. Department of State.  He retired in 2025 with the senior rank of Minister Counselor.  He brings significant experience in regional security, foreign assistance, crisis management, and international negotiations. A hallmark of his career has been close collaboration with U.S. allies and partners based on shared interests and values. DeHart is the author of Last Flight out of Kabul:  One Diplomat’s Journey in Afghanistan from Reconstruction to Collapse, scheduled for publication by the University of Nebraska Press in January, 2027. 

DeHart served as U.S. Consul General in Vancouver, Canada; U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region; Deputy Chief of Mission in Oslo, Norway; and as the State Department’s lead negotiator for defense agreements.  He was posted twice to Afghanistan:  as Director of a Provincial Reconstruction Team and as Assistant Chief of Mission in Kabul.  In 2021, DeHart helped lead the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.  His other assignments included Brussels, Belgium; Melbourne, Australia; and Istanbul, Turkey.  He also served as Director for Afghanistan Affairs and as Director for Central Asia on the National Security Council Staff.  He was a Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University where he taught a graduate-level course on NATO enlargement and wrote for publication.  

Wilson Center Project

Strengthening U.S. Presence in the Arctic through Dual-Use Investments and International Partnerships.

Project Summary

As the Arctic region undergoes dramatic warming and becomes more accessible in the years ahead, the United States must increase its Arctic presence in order to seize emerging economic opportunities and guard against arising threats. Policymakers generally recognize the strategic importance of the Arctic, and the need for greater U.S. presence, but they lack a framework for understanding where scarce resources should be directed.  This research project will fill that gap – by identifying dual-use investments and partnerships with the greatest potential to catalyze cross-sectoral development and broader Arctic connectivity.