Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
An independent Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank focused on defense strategy, military force planning, and national-security budgets.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) is an independent, nonprofit policy research institute based in Washington, D.C. It specializes in United States defense policy, military force planning, strategic assessment, and analysis of defense budgets. The organization presents itself as a nonpartisan educational and research institution whose purpose is to develop innovative, resource-informed defense concepts, encourage public debate, and support policies intended to advance United States and allied interests. CSBA traces its institutional origins to the Defense Budget Project, established by Gordon Adams in 1983 at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The original project was created during the Reagan administration's defense buildup to improve the quality of information available in debates over military spending and national-security priorities. In May 1995, the organization was incorporated in its current form as the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. During the following two decades, it became associated with debates over the so-called revolution in military affairs and the transformation of the United States military. The center's work combines long-range strategic analysis with practical examination of resources and force structure. It commonly assesses how proposed military concepts would affect the Department of Defense budget and Future Years Defense Programs. Its analytical toolkit includes net assessment, wargaming, force-planning studies, and examination of industrial and technological trends. Rather than treating strategy and budget policy as separate subjects, CSBA links military objectives to the forces, capabilities, industrial base, and funding required to implement them. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, CSBA increasingly emphasized the relationship between immediate defense requirements and longer-term security challenges. Its stated approach looks roughly two or three decades into the future to identify emerging risks and opportunities. Areas highlighted in its public descriptions have included the strategic challenge posed by China's military rise in the Pacific, the implications of a nuclear-armed Iran, the condition of the United States defense-industrial base, and the need to realign defense spending and force structure in periods of fiscal constraint. CSBA has also contributed to public and official discussion of concepts associated with AirSea Battle, involving the ability of United States air and naval forces to operate in contested environments. More broadly, the organization has argued that defense planning should respond to foreign military modernization and changing strategic conditions rather than simply preserve existing force structures. Its research products include reports, policy studies, analytical briefs, and assessments designed for policymakers, military professionals, academics, journalists, and the broader public. CSBA is organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. Its public education and research activities are supported by grants and contributions from foundations and corporations, as well as research support under contract with the Department of Defense, its agencies, the military services, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The organization's funding model and policy orientation place it within the Washington defense-policy research ecosystem, while its stated mission emphasizes independent analysis and resource-conscious strategy. Leadership has included Andrew Krepinevich, who served as president from 1993 to 2016, and Thomas G. Mahnken, who became president in 2016. Other notable affiliated figures have included Eric S. Edelman, a former senior diplomat and defense official; Robert O. Work, who later served as Deputy Secretary of Defense; and Michael G. Vickers, who later held senior positions relating to intelligence and special operations in the Department of Defense. CSBA's board has included figures such as Barbara Humpton, Jack Keane, and Paul J. Selva. The center remains an active specialist institution rather than a commercial consumer brand, with its influence derived primarily from research, expert networks, and participation in defense-policy debates.
History
The institution now known as the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments originated with the Defense Budget Project, founded by Gordon Adams in 1983 at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The project emerged during the Reagan administration's defense buildup, when policymakers and the public needed clearer information about military spending, defense priorities, and the trade-offs associated with expanding the national-security budget. In May 1995, the organization was incorporated as the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Its subsequent development reflected a broader shift in defense analysis: strategy increasingly had to be evaluated alongside available resources, force structure, technology, and the sustainability of military programs. CSBA became especially visible in discussions surrounding the revolution in military affairs and the transformation of the United States military during the 1990s and 2000s. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the center focused more heavily on connecting near-term operational demands with longer-range strategic competition. Its research approach sought to examine security challenges over a two- to three-decade horizon while also estimating the budgetary consequences of proposed policies. The center used methods including net assessment, wargaming, force-planning analysis, and comparisons of projected requirements with Department of Defense Future Years Defense Programs. CSBA's later work addressed the strategic implications of China's military development in the Pacific, the possibility of nuclear proliferation involving Iran, the health of the United States defense-industrial base, and the consequences of defense-budget reductions. It also participated in the policy debate over AirSea Battle and related concepts concerning the ability of United States and allied forces to operate in contested theaters. In this context, the organization advocated evaluating force structure and investment priorities against changing foreign capabilities rather than relying solely on inherited military arrangements. Leadership under Andrew Krepinevich, president from 1993 to 2016, helped establish CSBA as a prominent specialist organization in defense transformation and force-planning debates. Thomas G. Mahnken became president in 2016. The center has also employed or affiliated with senior defense and foreign-policy specialists, including Eric S. Edelman, Robert O. Work, and Michael G. Vickers. Several of these individuals subsequently held senior government positions, extending the center's connections to national-security policymaking. CSBA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. Its research and public-education activities are supported by foundation and corporate grants, contributions, and research contracts involving the Department of Defense, its subordinate agencies, the military services, and DARPA. It remains an active Washington-based think tank whose principal outputs are analytical publications, policy arguments, and expert engagement rather than commercial products.
- 2016
Thomas G. Mahnken becomes president
[1]Thomas G. Mahnken became president, succeeding Andrew Krepinevich.
- 2001
Post-September 11 strategic reorientation
[1]After September 11, CSBA increasingly linked immediate operational requirements with longer-term security challenges and emerging military competition.
- 1995
Current organization incorporated
[1]The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments was incorporated in its current form in May 1995.
- 1993
Andrew Krepinevich becomes president
[1]Andrew Krepinevich began a presidency that continued through 2016 and covered the center's expansion in debates over military transformation and force planning.
- 1983
Defense Budget Project established
[1]Gordon Adams established the Defense Budget Project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to improve information and analysis in debates over defense spending.
Products and positioning
Nonpartisan, resource-informed defense and national-security policy research institute
Research publication
Defense strategy research reports
Analytical studies examine United States and allied defense strategy, emerging military challenges, operational concepts, and long-range security competition. These reports are intended to inform policymakers and public debate rather than function as commercial products.
Policy analysis
Defense budget and force-planning assessments
CSBA evaluates the relationship between strategic objectives, military capabilities, force structure, and defense resources. Its assessments may compare proposals with Department of Defense budgets and Future Years Defense Programs to test whether concepts are financially sustainable.
Strategic analysis
Net assessment and wargaming studies
The center uses net assessment, wargaming, and related analytical methods to explore how prospective forces and operating concepts might perform against evolving competitors. These methods support studies of strategic interaction, capability gaps, and alternative investment priorities.
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