Dr. Diana Bolsinger
Assistant Professor
Faculty Profile
Diana Bolsinger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Security Studies at The University of Texas at El Paso, Previously, she served as Director of the Intelligence and National Security Studies (INSS) Master of Science and certificate program and Co-Director of the Texas Intelligence Academy. She earned her Ph.D. at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Policy, with previous master’s degrees in International Relations, Education, and Government from George Washington University, Marymount University, and New Mexico State University. Dr. Bolsinger was the 2020 recipient of the Bobby Inman Award for Student Scholarship in National Security.
Dr. Bolsinger's current book project with Georgetown University Press, "No Permanent Friends: How Secret Intelligence Ties Broke the US-Pakistan Relationship," is a comprehensive history of U.S.-Pakistan intelligence liaison from the 1950s forward. She has published two articles related to this project: “‘Though Not at Any Price’: LBJ, Pakistan, and Bargaining in an Asymmetric Intelligence Liaison Relationship,” (2022) and “Deception and Manipulation in an Intelligence Liaison Relationship: US–Pakistani Negotiations and the 1980s Afghan Program" (2023). Dr. Bolsinger's other recent works include "Overt Action: Congressional Oversight, Private Activism and Afghan Covert Action Policy in the Reagan Administration" (2024) and the "Improving Intelligence Analysis and Education in the US with Stronger Foundations in Statistical Literacy" (2025) collaboration.
Dr. Bolsinger’s public engagement includes featured guest appearances on the “Inside Intelligence” webinar, podcasts including “In the Interest of National Security” and the International Spy Museum’s “SpyCast,” and local and national media. She represented the University of Texas system at the 2025 annual Council for Foreign Relations College and University Educators Workshop. Dr. Bolsinger also serves as the Director of Communications and a member of the Board of Directors for the Society for Intelligence History.
Before coming to UTEP, Dr. Bolsinger served in a variety of analytical and policy support positions in the US Intelligence and foreign policy communities, including assignments in Islamabad, Pakistan; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Seoul, Korea; and Washington, DC. Her work in U.S. national security is profiled in the 2024 volume, “Job/Security: A Composite Portrait of the Expanding American Security Industry.”
Classes Taught:
- INSS 3302: Seminar in Intelligence & National Security
- INSS 4301: Intelligence and Counterterrorism
- INSS 3301/5301: Historical Development of the Intelligence Community
- INSS 4351/5351: Professional Practices/ Professional Skills
- INSS 5305: Introduction to Intelligence Analysis
- INSS 3310/5310: Intelligence & Terrorism
- INSS 5311: Intelligence and Information
- INSS 5325: Political Economy of Terrorism
- INSS 4351/5351: Professional Practices/Professional Skills
- INSS 5390: Capstone
For more information on Publications and Research Activities, visit:
