Garrett Hinck is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Columbia University. His research focuses on intelligence, technology, and strategic stability and is particularly interested in the role of nuclear deterrence in international politics. His dissertation, “Contested Collection: Technology, Intelligence, and Stability in Great Power Rivalries,” examines the conditions under which the use of new technologies for intelligence collection either improves or erodes stability in great power rivalries. This research draws on archival history for case studies of intelligence collection and the Cold War nuclear balance across the air, undersea, and space domains, and an experimental wargame featuring elite national security participants.

He was a Hans J. Morgenthau pre-doctoral fellow (non-resident) at the University of Notre Dame from 2024 – 2025. Prior to enrolling at Columbia, Garrett worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he was a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow in the Cyber Policy Initiative and Nuclear Policy Program. His written work has been published in the Washington Post, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, the Journal of National Security Law and Policy, and the UN Institute for Disarmament Research.