Drezner graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in 1990. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degree from Stanford University.
Drezner rarely discusses his political loyalties, but in 2011 he wrote: "I find liberals write 'even conservative Dan Drezner...' while conservatives often deploy terms like 'academic elitist' or 'RINO.' In my case, at this point in time, I believe that last appellation to be entirely fair and accurate. I'm not a Democrat, and I don't think I've become more liberal over time."
Drezner supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, writing that "a successful invasion not only eliminates the Iraqi threat, but over the long run it reduces the Arab resentment that feeds Al-Qaeda."
Drezner was a signatory to a March 2016 open letter by Republican national security community members that opposed Donald Trump as Republican nominee for U.S. President. Drezner announced in July 2017 that he is no longer part of the Republican party.
Drezner has published columns, essays, and op-eds in many media outlets, including The New Republic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the New York Times, Slate, Tech Central Station, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also been a frequent guest on Bloggingheads.tv and various other broadcast media. He originally blogged on his website, DanielDrezner.com, but moved in January 2009 to become a contributing blogger at ForeignPolicy.com. Drezner then moved to the Washington Post in 2014. He has moderated and spoken at various Council on Foreign Relations events.
Drezner's 2007 book, All Politics Is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes, looked at international economic regulations and concluded that these were under the control of the most wealthy and powerful nations, as they had been in the past. G. John Ikenberry in Foreign Affairs comments: "His main contribution, however, is to explode a popular notion of globalization and thereby to set an agenda for the study of global regulatory politics. For social movements seeking to shape the governance of the world economy, all roads still lead to the state."
Drezner's 2011 book, Theories of International Politics and Zombies, speculated about different ways the international community might respond to a zombie outbreak, although he "concedes that the statistical probability of such an event is extremely difficult to determine but generally thought to be low." Oliver Stuenkel, writing in Post-Western World, commented: "Drezner’s book is a must-read for young international relations scholars, considering the vast attention this topic is likely to get in the future."
Drezner's 2014 book, The System Worked: How the World Stopped Another Great Depression, examined the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. In it Drezner praised the international response to the crisis and said that a major economic depression was adverted. Jonathan Kirshner, in his review in the Boston Review, said the book was " smart, thoughtful, and important" but disagreed with Drezner on the issues of free trade and globalization.
Drezner is the author of:
Drezner, Daniel W. (2017). The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190264604.
Drezner, Daniel W. (2014). The System Worked: How the world stopped another Great Depression. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190263393.
Drezner, Daniel W. (2011). Theories of International Politics and Zombies. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691147833.
Drezner, Daniel W. (2008). All Politics is Global: Explaining international regulatory regimes. Princeton, New Jersey Woodstock: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691096421.
Drezner, Daniel W. (2006). U.S. Trade Strategy: Free versus fair. New York Washington, D.C: Council on Foreign Relations Distributed by Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 9780876093498.
Drezner, Daniel W. (1999). The Sanctions Paradox: Economic statecraft and international relations. Cambridge England New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521643320.
He has also edited:
Drezner, Daniel W. (2003). Locating the Proper Authorities: The interaction of domestic and international institutions. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472027279.
Drezner, Daniel W. (2009). Avoiding Trivia: The role of strategic planning in American foreign policy. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 9780815703662.
Drezner, Daniel W. (March 2008). "The realist tradition in American public opinion". Perspectives on Politics. Cambridge Journals. 6 (1): 51–70. JSTOR 20446637. doi:10.1017/S1537592708080067. Pdf.
Drezner, Daniel W. (2008), "International economic order", in Darity, William A., International encyclopedia of the social sciences, volume 4: Inequality, income – Marxism (2nd ed.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, ISBN 9780028659695.
Drezner, Daniel W.; Farrell, Henry (January 2008). "Introduction: blogs, politics and power: a special issue of Public Choice". Public Choice, special issue: Blogs, Politics and Power. Springer. 134 (1–2): 1–13. JSTOR 27698207. doi:10.1007/s11127-007-9206-5.
Drezner, Daniel W.; Farrell, Henry (January 2008). "The power and politics of blogs". Public Choice, special issue: Blogs, Politics and Power. Springer. 134 (1–2): 15–30. JSTOR 27698208. doi:10.1007/s11127-007-9198-1.
Drezner, Daniel W. (October 2005). "Globalization, harmonization, and competition: the different pathways to policy convergence". Journal of European Public Policy, special issue: Cross-national Policy Convergence: Causes, Concepts and Empirical Findings. Taylor and Francis. 12 (5): 841–859. doi:10.1080/13501760500161472.
Drezner, Daniel W. (Fall 2004). "The global governance of the internet: bringing the State back in". Political Science Quarterly. Wiley. 119 (3): 477–498. JSTOR 20202392. doi:10.2307/20202392.
Drezner, Daniel W. (Summer 2003). "The hidden hand of economic coercion". International Organization. Cambridge Journals. 57 (3): 643–659. JSTOR 3594840. doi:10.1017/S0020818303573052.
Drezner, Daniel W. (January 2001). "Outside the box: explaining sanctions in pursuit of foreign economic goals". International Interactions. Taylor and Francis. 26 (4): 379–410. doi:10.1080/03050620108434972.
Drezner, Daniel W. (Spring 2001). "Globalization and policy convergence". International Studies Review. Wiley. 3 (1): 53–78. JSTOR 3186512. doi:10.1111/1521-9488.00225.
Drezner, Daniel W. (January 2001). "State structure, technological leadership and the maintenance of hegemony". Review of International Studies. Cambridge Journals. 27 (1): 3–25. JSTOR 20079588. doi:10.1017/S0260210501000031.
Drezner, Daniel W. (October 2000). "Ideas, bureaucratic politics, and the crafting of foreign policy". American Journal of Political Science. Wiley. 44 (4): 733–749. JSTOR 2669278. doi:10.2307/2669278.
Drezner, Daniel W. (Winter 2000). "Bargaining, enforcement, and multilateral sanctions: when is cooperation counterproductive?". International Organization. Cambridge Journals. 54 (1): 73–102. JSTOR 2601318. doi:10.1162/002081800551127.
Drezner, Daniel W. (September 1999). "The trouble with carrots: transaction costs, conflict expectations, and economic inducements". Security Studies, special issue: Power and the Purse: Economic Statecraft, Interdependence, and National Security. Taylor and Francis. 9 (1–2): 188–218. doi:10.1080/09636419908429399.
Drezner, Daniel W. (December 1998). "Conflict expectations and the paradox of economic coercion". International Studies Quarterly. Wiley. 42 (4): 709–731. JSTOR 2600899. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00103.
Drezner, Daniel W. (September 1998). "So you want to get a tenure-track job...". PS: Political Science & Politics. Cambridge Journals. 31 (3): 609–614. JSTOR 420623. doi:10.2307/420623.
Drezner, Daniel W. (March 1997). "Allies, adversaries, and economic coercion: Russian foreign economic policy since 1991". Security Studies. Taylor and Francis. 6 (3): 65–111. doi:10.1080/09636419708429315.
