Guns, Drugs, and Cash: Financial Warfare from Damascus to Pyongyang
On Wednesday, March 26, the Strauss Center hosted Alex Zerden, founder of Capitol Peak Strategies and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security’s Energy, Economics, and Security Program, for a discussion on “Guns, Drugs, and Cash: Financial Warfare from Damascus to Pyongyang.”
This talk was a fireside chat with Strauss Center Director Adam Klein.
This discussion touched on themes surrounding national security law and financial intelligence, case studies on the use of economic tools for national security (from tariffs to countering terrorism financing to anti-money laundering initiatives), the impact of new and emerging technologies like cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, the role of the U.S. dollar and U.S. institutions in economic statecraft, current threats, and more.
This is event was free and open to the public and attended by UT Austin students, faculty and staff, and members of the local community.
For any questions about this event, contact Brittany Horton at brittany.horton@austin.utexas.edu.
Biography
Alex Zerden is the founder and principal of Capitol Peak Strategies, a DC-based risk advisory firm, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and a senior advisor to WestExec Advisors, a geopolitical risk consultancy.
As a regulatory lawyer, economic policymaker, and financial diplomat, Alex brings a depth of public and private sector experience at the intersection of financial services, economics, and national security. Alex has published extensively on issues involving economic statecraft such as economic sanctions, counter threat finance, and emerging financial technologies.
Alex previously worked across the U.S. government, including at the White House National Economic Council, Congress, and the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Alex deployed to Afghanistan to lead the Treasury Department office at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.