Donald C.F. Daniel is Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University as well as Milton E. Miles Professor Emeritus at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. He has been Special Assistant to the Chairman, US Intelligence Council in Washington; Ford Foundation Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington; Research Associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London; researcher-in-residence for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva; and Associate Fellow at the Swedish National Defense College, Stockholm. He has directed numerous political-military simulations involving participants from all regions of the world. He has authored or edited 11 books (three of which won awards) and published over 60 articles. He holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University and was a Vietnam era naval officer.

Since his retirement from Georgetown he has lectured widely abroad (including as a recurring lecturer at Nanjing University in China) and in the USA (including as a recurring lecturer to elder hostel groups) on historical and contemporary topics.

World War One: The naval war in the North Atlantic
Delve into the background, the dimensions, and the implications of the Allied and German naval campaigns including the pre-war Anglo-German naval arms race, the Battle of Jutland, and the German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

World War Two: The “Battle of the Atlantic”
Delve into the background, the dimensions, and the implications of the longest continuous military campaign of the war. Described by Churchill as “the only thing that really frightened me”, the convoy war underscored the significance of navies, technology, and deception.

“World War Three at Sea”: How a naval war might have transpired in the Atlantic and the High North
Delve into the background, the dimensions, and the implications of conflict in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian and Arctic seas had a NATO-Soviet war occurred.

A Very Dangerously Close Call: Why Moscow thought that war was imminent in 1983
Learn how US activities in the Norwegian Sea and High North convinced Moscow that the United States was on the verge of attacking the Soviet homeland.

The War That Was and “The War That Nearly Was”: Superpower naval confrontation in the E. Med.
Learn how a parallel confrontation to the Yom Kippur War nearly brought the USA and the USSR to a shooting war in Fall 1973. This confrontation was as dangerous as that which occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Consequences of a "Lovely War": How political independence and modernization came to Iceland
Iceland in 1940 was an underdeveloped island under Danish sovereignty. Learn how all that changed after the outbreak of World War 2 in Europe.

How the USA Assessed the Cold War: From pessimism to optimism
Consider reasons why USA policy-makers shifted their perspectives on the Cold War.

The Most Outstanding Empire: 17th Century Netherlands and its "Embarrassment of Riches"
See how a small modest union of micro-states set the tone for future maritime empires.

Scotland's Last Hope: Bonnie Prince Charlie
Learn how Charles Edward Stuart sought but lost the chance to unify England and Scotland under Stuart rule.

Who was the Isdal woman?
Reach your own conclusions about the woman with eight passports but no identity, found in Bergen.

Elenore de Grandmaison: from teenage widow to New France power broker
Hear how a mysterious young Frenchwoman outlived four husbands to and became a force to be reckoned with in Colonial Quebec.

The World in 2040: Is man seizing creation?
Explore how humankind may be seizing "creation" through revolutionary scientific breakthroughs in synthetic biology, genetic editing, organ harvesting, 3-D printing, and advances in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Who Will Be the Greater Power in 2040: the United States or China?
Assess the cumulative impact on global power dynamics of American and Chinese trends in military power, economic home power, economic hard power, innovation, soft power, and governance.

Demography and Destiny: The world's future as determined by its people
Delve into the impact for global wellbeing of long-term and probably irreversible trends in the ages of populations, their sex ratios, their geographic locations, their standards of living, and their converging or diverging values.

Will your descendants live in a better world? The case for optimism
Assess whether mankind will continue to bend the arcs of history toward more favorable outcomes for those who come after us and evaluate the case for optimism.

Mediterranean Sea Control in World War Two.
Learn about Malta's strategic role in World War and why it was awarded the George Cross by George VI.

The Steppingstone: The Operations to Capture Sicily in WW2
Learn how the Allies captured Sicily and the role played by the Mafia and deception in facilitating the assault.

Ataturk: the George Washington of the Turkish Republic
Come to appreciate how a broad-thinking and politically astute military man transformed Turkey away from Ottoman rule to a secular republic.

The Peloponnesian War: The Struggle for Hegemony in Ancient Greece
Learn how this "classic" war played out over decades and assess its potential relevance for today's world.

A Unique Entity: The Autonomous Monastic Republic of Mt. Athos
Be amazed by a geographic religious entity that has remained largely unchanged for over a millennium.

Pompeii: Its Glory and Its Bounty
Be astonished by the beauty of Pompeii and its archeological bounty.

Fifteen Facts That Characterize Venice and Its Control of the East Adriatic and Beyond
Admire how Venice—a small but shrewd republic—survived over a thousand years and became the richest city in the world.

The Creative Genius of Antoni Gaudi
Revel in the originality, beauty, and functionality of Gaudi’s architectural creations.

The Monaco F1 Grand Prix: The Principality's Contribution to Racing's Triple Crown
Be captivated by the world of Formula 1 racing and Monaco's role.

Poland's Struggle for Sovereignty from the 18th Century to the post-Cold War
Learn how Poland maneuvered to retain sovereignty while surrounded by great powers.

The "Free City" of Gdansk: Flash Point for War
Learn why Gdansk was a "Free City" and why it was a flashpoint prior to WW 2.

The Anglo-German Naval Arms Race prior to WW 1
Appreciate the "war is coming" impact of the Anglo-German naval arms race.

World War I: No one expected war in 1914, yet it occurred.
Would you have gone to war? What lessons do you believe we can draw for today?

World War II: Hitler did not want a "big" war in 1939; nor did Japan in 1941.
Learn why both occurred anyway and ask if you would have gone to war.

The Cold War: Was it inevitable? Could it have ended earlier?
Would you have gone to Cold War? What lessons do you believe we can draw for today?

When nations go to war because they think they have to, not because they want to.
Why would you go to war TOMORROW?

The Swedish Century: A 17th century Great Power
Appreciate this remarkable chapter in European history.

Cyprus: The Utility and Shortcomings of UN Peacekeeping
Learn why UN peacekeeping can be indispensable and never-ending.

Trojan War: Mythologized in the "Iliad"
What can we learn from a war that supposedly occurred in 12thBCE?

Saint Paul in Athens and Ephesus: two lenses into his persona
See how Paul challenged prevailing norms and authority structures.

F1 Grand Prix Racing: The newest global sports phenomenon
Enjoy learning the intricacies and seeing highlights of international F1 racing.

Wars Between Great Powers: Some see them as a thing of the past, but are they really?
Would you be won over by arguments that a Great Power war would be one or more of the following: (a) "Realistic"; (b) an opportunity; (c) a necessity including a necessary gamble; and/or (d) an obligation?

Instrument of Empire: The Dutch East India Company
Learn how a new small union of micro-states and its East India Company came to dominate Indian Ocean.

The Forgotten Naval War: Confrontation in the Indian Ocean in World War Two
Understand why Churchill referred to the 1942 Imperial Japan offensive in the Indian Ocean as “the most dangerous moment of the war”.

Pirates: The Obstacle to British Domination of India and the Indian Ocean
Realize that piracy was more than a job. It was a lifestyle that Britain and its East India Company could not avoid confronting.

An Extraordinary Assemblage Of Extraordinary Personalities In An Extraordinary Land
Be amazed at how Kenya served a magnet for people whose uncommon traits were common.