He specializes in international security with a focus on terrorism and counterterrorism, political and military affairs in South Asia, and U.S. foreign and defense policies related to these issues.Tankel is on the editorial board of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and is a senior editor of the web magazine War on the Rocks. In 2014, Tankel served as a senior advisor for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs at the Department of Defense. He wrote his first book, Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba (Columbia University Press, 2011) in 2011, and will publish another exploring how partner nations in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia enable and constrain U.S. counterterrorism efforts.