Tides in International Principles and Order: Issues for Japan’s Security Strategy

Supported by the research grant for diplomacy and security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies will conduct a research project from fiscal year 2023 titled, "Tides in International Principles and Order: Issues for Japan’s Security Strategy,” to examine the developments and challenges to international principles and order, and their impact on Japan’s security strategy.

Working group

"Peace Building and Establishment of Order in the Middle East and Africa" International Study Group

In cooperation with research institutions and researchers in conflict zones and relevant countries in the Middle East and Africa, this study group will discuss new approaches to resolving civil wars and regional conflicts and present recommendations to the Japanese and relevant governments.

"Theory and Practice of Conflict Resolution" Study Group

This study group will assess the current situation of civil wars and regional conflicts in developing countries, especially in the Middle East and Africa, many of which have become protracted and stalemated. The group will propose new solutions that contribute to conflict resolution and peace building.

"Japan's Position in the International Energy Order" Study Group

This study group will examine ways for Japan to actively participate in forming the international energy order. The group will attempt to understand the conditions Japan finds itself in the international energy order that is shaped by both the competition for technology development and standardization toward decarbonization, market trends in various countries and regions, and geopolitical factors such as the situation in the Middle East and Africa and the war in Russia and Ukraine.

"Analysis and Remodeling of Japan’s Value-Oriented Diplomacy" Study Group

This study group will examine the role of Japan’s diplomacy in the current state of international affairs. In this era of "interstate competition" between major countries and advanced nations, especially the West and authoritarian states such as China and Russia, what kind of ideological underpinnings should Japan base its diplomacy on? This study group will examine Japan's historical developments and the nature of its value-oriented diplomacy.

"Analysis and Remodeling of the Relations between Religion and Society" International Study Group

This study group will bring together researchers from Asia, Western and Eastern Europe (including Russia) and North America to focus on themes of religion, including religion in contemporary Japanese society. The group aims to understand various issues in the international community that have religious underpinnings, and communicate internationally about the values of contemporary Japanese society.

“Analysis and Remodeling of Contemporary Religious Philosophy” International Study Group

Religion serves as the foundation supporting the basic ideas of societies, and is worth examining to better understand states’ behaviors. This study group will include scholars of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in addition to Japanese Buddhist monks and Shinto priests, to analyze these factors and linkages. Further, by relativizing Japanese religious thought and disseminating it abroad,Japan can be better understood by the international community.

"Analysis and Remodeling of 'Western' Logic" Study Group

This study will focus on the politics and diplomacy of major "Western" states. Currently, developed states that adhere to Western-promoted universal values such as freedom, democracy, respect for fundamental human rights, and the rule of law are facing internal political and social upheaval as well as external threats from authoritarian states such as China and Russia. This study group will discuss and disseminate policy recommendations for  Western-oriented developed countries facing such situations.

Sub-Group 3 on "SDGs and Diplomatic Strategies"

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to discuss international security issues in the context of the SDGs. Focusing on infectious diseases, poverty, discrimination, environmental pollution, and climate change, the study group will discuss the links between the environment and human security, energy security, resources and supply chains, and interstate conflicts.

"Security Cooperation Mechanisms" International Study Group

This study group will bring together experts from various countries to examine multilateral security cooperation based on the Japan-U.S. relationship amid U.S.-China great power competition. In particular, the group will discuss how to maintain a stable international order in cooperation with Asia-Pacific and NATO states while maintaining limited but functional engagement with China.

Sub-Group 2 on "Maritime and Transportation Security"

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to discuss the threats and vulnerabilities to maritime and transportation systems. Focusing specifically on the theme of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the group will conduct discussions and tabletop exercises to analyze threats posed by military, terrorist, and criminal organizations; the mutual impact of non-traditional security issues; and security problems created by intermodal transport systems.

"Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group

This study group will bring together experts from various countries to examine the developments and issues in the Indo-Pacific security environment. The group will cover a wide range of areas including: defense; maritime and transport security; environmental and human security; new and emerging technologies and economic security.  The study group consists of four subgroups: "Security and Defense Strategy"; "Maritime and Transportation Security"; "SDGs and Diplomatic Strategies"; and “New and Emerging Technologies”.

Sub-Group 4 on “New and Emerging Technologies”

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to discuss the impact of new and emerging technologies in the Indo-Pacific region. In particular, the group will look at how new technologies create opportunities but also issues from the economic security standpoint and also national industries, as well as impact interstate relations region.

Sub-Group 1 on "Security and Defense Strategy"

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to examine recent developments in defense strategies and trends in the Indo-Pacific. In particular, the group will conduct discussions and tabletop exercises to analyze how emerging technologies and new operational concepts, hybrid warfare, and developments in the land, sea, air, space, cyber, electromagnetic, and cognitive domains are causing transformations in regional military affairs. The group will also discuss how Japan should respond to these changes.

Activity record

Member

Aiko SHIMIZU

Aiko Shimizu is the Japan Digital Inclusion Lead at Microsoft, where she focuses on AI, cybersecurity, digital skilling, and sustainability, and an Adjunct Fellow at the Pacific Forum. 

Prior to her current role, Aiko has worked in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors across the United States, Japan, and Germany, including at Twitter, BMW and Daimler urban mobility joint venture SHARE NOW (formerly car2go), Bloomberg, the United Nations, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. She has also been selected as a U.S.-Japan Council Emerging Leader, an Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Fellow, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader, a Salzburg Global Fellow, and an Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leader. Aiko received her graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She received her Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Chicago.

Research interests: Artificial Intelligence (AI), technology, cybersecurity, sustainability, mobility, energy 

Anna Mykolayivna Ishchenko

Education: obtained a Bachelor's degree at the National Technical University of Ukraine, Faculty of Sociology—postgraduate study in philosophy of education at National Technical University of Ukraine, faculty of sociology and law. Anna Mykolayivna Ischenko has a strong sociology background and extensive field experience, including a diverse range of research interests and practical activities. Her work in applied sociology, human capital development, and education philosophy demonstrates her commitment to contributing to the field of sociology and society at large.
Education: Bachelor's degree National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" (Kyiv), Faculty of Sociology Specialty "Sociology."
Career: has had an internship at Masaryk University Training Week (MUST Week) under the Erasmus+ program, Scientific and Practical Seminar: "Qualitative Methods in Sociological Research" (Higher School of Sociology at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and currently the Director of the Scientific Research Center of Applied Sociology "Sotsioplus", 
Field of Scientific Interests:
Applied Sociology
Factors of Formation and Development of Human Capital
Philosophy of Education
Expert Research Methods
Publications: Some of her publications include: "Formation of a Positive Image of a Female Manager in the Civil Service" (co-authored with A. A. Melnychenko, O. A. Akimova, and others) - Published by the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union.
"Foresight of the Development of the Defense-Industrial Complex of Ukraine in the Time Horizon of 2021–2030" (as the Scientific Project Manager) - Published by the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" and many other titles.

Ariel STENEK

PhD student, GRIPS Global Governance Program, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

Ariel Stenek is a PhD student in the GRIPS Global Governance Program (Security and International Studies concentration) at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. Previously she was director of the Young Leaders Program at Pacific Forum, an initiative that supports a global network of over 1,500 young professionals working in foreign policy and security studies, and was co-lead investigator of Pacific Forum's Women, Peace and Security program. Past positions include interning at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and working on UNESCO's Silk Roads Programme. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from Queen Mary, University of London (Paris campus) and a B.A. in Global Politics and Societies with a minor in European Studies from the University of San Francisco. Her research interests include maritime security, U.S.-Japan relations, and Indo-Pacific security architecture.

Arius DERR

Arius Derr is a PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at The Australian National University. His research focuses on the North Korea nuclear issue. In particular, he explores US relations with nuclear powers over time and how it has ‘learned to live’ with new proliferators. His research is also concerned with deterrence in East Asia and how and why it impacts the objectives of the US and its allies in the region. 

He is Editor at Korea Risk Group and its primary publications NK News and NK Pro, as well as Korea Desk Editor at the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER)’s East Asia Forum.

Arius’ main interests include US foreign policy in East Asia, the Korean Peninsula, great power competition and international security. His work has been published in the Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, East Asia Forum, the Centre for International Governance Innovation and other outlets.

He has also worked as Editor at KBS, South Korea’s public broadcaster, Research Associate in the Strategy Division of United States Forces Korea, and as Consultant for the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Research interests: Nuclear weapons, deterrence, international security, great power competition, US foreign policy, alliance management, East Asia, North Korea, South Korea, Australia

Atsuko HIGASHINO

Professor, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences
Specialised in international relations theory, European international politics, EU Eastern enlargement and external relations.

Bich TRAN

Dr. Bich Tran is a postdoctoral fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. 
In addition to being an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC, she has been a visiting fellow at the East West Center, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS-Asia), and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute among others.

Dr. Tran obtained her PhD in Political Science from the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She has published on various platforms, including Asia Pacific Issues, Asian Perspective, Asian Politics & Policy, The Diplomat, East Asia Forum, and Fulcrum. Dr. Tran is the author of “Vietnam's Strategic Adjustments and US Policy” (Survival 64, no. 6, 77–90). A full list of her publications can be found on ResearchGate.

Research interests: Vietnam’s grand strategy, Vietnam-China relations, Vietnam-US relations, ASEAN, maritime security 

Christopher LAMONT

Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Assistant Dean of E-Track Programs and Professor, Institute for International Strategy, Tokyo International University

Christopher Lamont is Assistant Dean of E-Track Programs and Professor of International Relations. Previously, he held a tenured position at the University of Groningen, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulster. He was also previously a Fulbright scholar at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. He holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow and has published widely on human rights and transitional justice. His recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Democracy, the International Journal of Human Rights, Global Policy, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, and Human Rights Review. He also co-edited, New Crifical Spaces in Transitional Justice (with Arnaud Kurze, Indiana University Press, 2019) and is the author of two research methods textbooks, Research Methods in International Relations (Sage 2015, second edition 2021), and Research Methods in Politics and International Relations (with Mieczyslaw Boduszyński, Sage 2020). In addition to his scholarly work, his writings have also appeared in Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage.

Collin KOH Swee Lean

Collin Koh is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies which is a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has research interests on naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Southeast Asia. Collin has published several op-eds, policy- and academic journal articles as well as chapters for edited volumes covering his research areas. He has also taught at Singapore Armed Forces professional military education and training courses. Besides research and teaching, Collin also contributes his perspectives to various local and international media outlets and participates in activities with geopolitical risks consultancies.

DongJoon PARK

Dr. DongJoon Park is a Research Fellow at the Jeju Peace Institute (JPI). He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the department of Government at Georgetown University in 2020, and his research focuses on the role of reputations in international relations, alliance politics, and, more broadly, the impact of perceptions on crisis decision-making. His previous roles/positions include, POSCO Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center (2023), Research Professor at the Peace and Democracy Institute (PDI) at Korea University (2023), Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Security and Conflict Studies (ISCS) at George Washington University (2020-2021), and James A. Kelly Korea Research Fellow in residence at Pacific Forum (2011-2012).

Emma VERGES

Emma Verges is a Program Assistant with the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) within the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. With a background in Chinese history, culture, and politics, she produces critical analyses and forward-thinking strategies in support of the Initiative’s work on the most pressing issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on her knowledge of international order through the lens of international human rights and immigration, Emma has expanded her scope of work to include US-Japan-ROK Trilateral Cooperation, Integrated Deterrence of Adversary Limited Nuclear Use in East Asia, and Trans-Atlantic-Pacific coordination to defend the rules-based international system.
 
Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Emma received her master’s degree in global affairs as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her time in China lends a unique perspective to her work. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Russian Studies from Macalester College. 

Research interests: China, Russia, human rights, immigration, soft power issues

Eunjung LIM

Eunjung Lim is an Associate Professor at Division of International Studies, Kongju National University (KNU). She served as Vice President for International Affairs, Dean of Institute of Korean Education and Culture, and Dean of Institute of International Language Education at the same university.

Her areas of specialization include international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, comparative and global governance, and energy, nuclear, and climate change policies of East Asian countries. Since 2018, she has served as a board member of Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC), and currently serves as a member of Policy Advisory Committee for Ministry of Unification. She is also the chair of Japan Studies Committee of The Korean Association of International Studies.

Before joining the KNU faculty, Dr. Lim served as an Assistant Professor at College of International Studies, Ritsumeikan University, in Kyoto, Japan. She also taught at several universities in the United States and Korea, including Johns Hopkins University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. She has been a researcher and a visiting fellow at academic institutes including the Center for Contemporary Korean Studies at Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo, the Institute of Japanese Studies at Seoul National University, the Institute of Japan Studies at Kookmin University, and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.

She earned a B.A. from the University of Tokyo, an M.I.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

Research interests: international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, comparative and global governance, energy security, resource security, nuclear policies, fuel cycle policies, climate change policies

Fedorchenko-Kutuyev Pavlo

Education: Habilitation (Doctor of Sciences) in Sociology, Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University (2005), Master of Public Administration, Institute of Public Administration and Local Government, Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine, with a major in Law and Politics (1995), Kandydat Nauk (Ph.D.) in Sociology, Institute of Sociology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1994), Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, Kyiv State University of Economics (1993-1994), Diploma of Higher Education (MA) in Sociology with the highest distinction (summa cum laude), Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University (1993).
Career: Professor of Sociology, Sociology Department Chair, and Visiting Scholar at esteemed institutions in Ukraine and abroad. His career highlights include: Professor of Sociology and Sociology Department Chair, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (2013-Present), Visiting Scholar at prestigious institutions such as Stanford University (USA), University of Tokyo (Japan), St. John's College (Oxford University, UK), and others. Deputy Editor-in-Chief of KPI Journal of Sociology, Political Science, and Law (2013-Present), Executive Director of the Center for Comparative Politics, a Ukrainian non-governmental think tank (1993-1999).
Areas of Specialties: History of Sociology, Historical Sociology, Contemporary sociological theory, Sociology of development and modernization, Political Sociology, Conflict Resolution
Some publications: he has published some teaching manuals and 75 textbooks and articles.

Guibourg Delamotte

Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Professor of Political Science at the French Institute of Oriental Studies (Inalco)

Areas of Expertise:
Security and International Relations in Asia
Japanese Foreign and Defense Policies
Japanese Internal Politics and Political System

Guibourg was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Tokyo College of the University of Tokyo, from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. Her in-person stay in Tokyo was from July to August 2022 and she gave an intensive lecture course at the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) of the University of Tokyo in early August.

Guibourg was Visiting Fellow of the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) of the University of Tokyo during her visit to Tokyo and participated in research activities and education at the Division of Religion and Global Security of RCAST and in particular ROLES (RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies). 

In 2023, now a Full Professor at Inalco, she is invited as Visiting Senior Research Fellow of RCAST and Associate Research Fellow of Tokyo College.

Her latest books are:
Le Japon, un leader discret - Eyrolles, 2023.
La Democratie au Japon, singuliere et universelle - ENS Ed. 2022.
The Abe Legacy. How Japan has been shaped by Abe Shinzo (coed. J. Brown, R. Dujarric) - Lexington, 2021.
Geopolitique et geoeconomie du monde contemporain. Puissance et conflits (coed. C. Tellenne) - La Decouverte, 2021.

Hideaki SHINODA

Education: PhD in International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), University of London, UK (1998), MA in Political Science, Waseda University, Japan (1993), BA, Waseda University, Japan (1991). 
Professional Positions) After working as a part-time teacher at LSE and Keele University, he took a research fellow position at the Institute for Peace Science of Hiroshima University, where he became Associate Professor. Then, he took the current position at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 2013. He has been a visiting scholar at the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law, Cambridge University (2000) and at the Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University (2002). He was Visiting Professional at the International Criminal Court (2017).
Publications) He is the author of many books and articles including Partnership Peace Operations: UN and Regional Organizations in Multiple Layers of International Security (Routledge, 2024). He has received academic awards including Osaragi Jiro Rondan Award of Asahi Newspaper (2003), Suntory Academic Award (2012), Yomiuri Yoshino Sakuzo Award of Yomiuri Newspaper (2017).

Iurii Perga

Education: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, postgraduate study of National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" Wroclaw University Candidate of Historical Sciences and internship with the University of Warsaw, Bergen-Belsen Memorial, and Vytautas Magnus University.
Interests: Ukrainian-Polish relations in the first half of the twentieth century; history of ICT development in the EU
Publications: author of 20+ scientific publications

Jasmin ALSAIED

Jasmin Alsaied is a non-resident fellow with the Middle East Institute as part of the defense and security portfolio. She has published with CSIS, The Diplomat, Asia Times, Charged Affairs, and more.

Research interests: nuclear challenges in the Indo-Pacific; emerging tech integration; alliance strategy and cohesion 

Jeffrey ORDANIEL

Dr. Jeffrey Ordaniel is a non-resident Senior Adjunct Fellow and Director for Maritime Security at the Pacific Forum. Concurrently, he is also an Associate Professor of International Security Studies at Tokyo International University (TIU) in Japan. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and specializes in the study of offshore territorial and maritime entitlement disputes in Asia. His teaching and research revolve around maritime security and ocean governance, ASEAN regionalism, and broadly, U.S. alliances and engagements in the Indo-Pacific. 

From 2016 to 2019, he was based in Honolulu and was the holder of the endowed Admiral Joe Vasey Fellowship at the Pacific Forum. Since 2019, Dr. Ordaniel has been convening several maritime security-related working groups and track 2 dialogues aiming to generate sound, pragmatic, and actionable policy prescriptions for the region. His current research on maritime security in Asia is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2020-2024.

Research interests: Maritime Security, US-Philippine Alliance, Southeast Asian International Relations

John BRADFORD

John F. Bradford is the inaugural Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Indonesia.  He is also an adjunct senior fellow in the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.  His research focuses on Asian security with special attention given to maritime issues and cooperative affairs. His written work can be found in journals such as Contemporary Southeast Asia, Asia Policy, Asian Security, Asian Survey, Naval War College Review, and Naval Institute Proceedings as well as in edited volumes, online publications and monographs published by leading international think tanks.

Prior to becoming a full-time researcher, he spent more than twenty-three years as a U.S. Navy officer. As a Surface Warfare Officer, he served as Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Combat Systems Officer, Chief Engineer, Navigator, and First Lieutenant in ships forward-deployed to Japan. His staff assignments included service as Deputy Director for the U.S. Seventh Fleet Maritime Headquarters, as Regional Cooperation Coordinator for the U.S. Seventh Fleet, as Country Director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Asia-Pacific Politico-military Branch Chief on the Navy Staff. As an Olmsted Scholar, CDR Bradford studied in the Department of Political Science at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia and completed an MSc (Strategic Studies) from RSIS. He is also a graduate of Japan’s National Institute of Defense Studies and is proud of the training he received as a midshipman aboard the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD Rahmat. A list of his publications can be viewed here.

Research interests: Asian security, maritime issues, security cooperation

Jonathan BERKSHIRE MILLER

Jonathan is Director of the Foreign Affairs, National
Security, and Defence program at the Ottawa-based Macdonald Laurier Institute. He is also concurrently a senior fellow with the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and senior fellow on East Asia for the Tokyo-based Asian Forum Japan. Miller also is the Director and co-founder of the Council on International Policy. He also holds appointments as Canada’s ASEAN Regional Forum Expert and Eminent Person (EEP) and as a Responsible Leader for the BMW Foundation. Previously, he was an international affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, based in Tokyo. Other former appointments and roles include terms as a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Senior Fellow on East Asia for the New York-based EastWest Institute.

Miller also held a fellowship on Japan with the Pacific Forum CSIS from 2013-16, and has held a number of other visiting fellowships on Asian security matters, including at JIIA and the National Institute of Defense Studies (Ministry of Defense - Japan). In addition, Miller previously spent nearly a decade working on economic and security issues related to Asia with the Canadian federal government and worked both with the foreign ministry and the security community. He regularly attends track 1.5 and track 2 dialogues in the region and lectures to universities, think-tanks, corporations and others across the Asia-Pacific region on security and defense issues. He regularly consults, provides advice and presents to the private sector, multilateral organizations and governments on regional geopolitics.

Jonathan is a regular contributor to several journals, magazines and newspapers on Asia-Pacific security issues including The Economist Intelligence Unit, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy and Nikkei Asian Review. He has also published widely in other outlets including Forbes, Newsweek Japan, the Globe and Mail, the World Affairs Journal, the Japan Times, the Mainichi Shimbun, the ASAN Forum, Jane’s Intelligence Review and Global Asia. Miller has been interviewed and quoted on regional security issues across a wide range of media including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, Le Monde, Nikkei, the Japan Times, Asahi Shimbun, the Voice of America, the Globe and Mail, CBC, CTV and ABC news.

Research interests: Indo-Pacific security; strategic competition; 5EYES and 5EYES plus engagement in region; intelligence cooperation; US-Japan-ROK; ASEAN; emerging technologies; economic security; supply chain resilience

Katherine YUSKO

Katherine Yusko is a project assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, where she supports research and analysis of US relations in East Asia, transatlantic-Pacific alliance building, and nuclear/conflict deterrence strategies. Her most recent research focused on identifying areas for US-Papua New Guinea cooperation on climate security challenges.
 
Yusko earned her BA in Culture and Conflict from New York University with a minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. She holds a master’s degree in International Affairs, with a concentration in International Security Policy and a specialization in International Conflict Resolution, from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Kohei TOYODA

Co-operative Research Fellow

Working Group 2 on Middle Eastern and Islamic Alternatives
Working Group 5 on Indo-Pacific Transport Security (Assistant Coordinator)
Sub-Working Group 2 on Tabletop Exercises (Assistant Coordinator)

Twitter: @toyodadesuyo

Kristi GOVELLA

Dr. Kristi Govella is Director of the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs and an Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She specializes in the intersection of economics and security in international relations, with a particular focus on the Indo-Pacific region and Japan. Dr. Govella’s research has examined topics such as economic statecraft, trade, investment, multinational firms, alliances, regional institutional architecture, and the governance of the global commons. In addition to her publications in journals and edited books, she is the co-editor of two books: Linking Trade and Security: Evolving Institutions and Strategies in Asia, Europe, and the United States (2013) and Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States (2012). She serves as an Adjunct Fellow at the East-West Center and Pacific Forum and as Editor of the journal Asia Policy

Dr. Govella was previously Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Asia Program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, and an Associate Professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. She has also been a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo and Waseda University. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Research interests: economic statecraft, economic security, economic coercion, trade, investment, firms, alliances, regional institutional architecture, maritime security, cyberspace, outer space, non-traditional security

Kyoko IMAI

Atlantic Council Assistant Director, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative 

Lauren GILBERT

Lauren Gilbert is an associate director with the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. In
this role, she oversees research and programming focused on engaging with US, allied, and partner governments and other key stakeholders to shape strategies and policies to
mitigate the most important rising security challenges facing the region. In particular, her work focuses on US-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation, Korea-Japan relations,
integrated deterrence, and trans-Atlantic-Pacific coordination with the aim of defending the rules-based international system.

Originally from Texas, Gilbert holds an MIS in International Cooperation from Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies. Her thesis focused on an
analysis of US-ROK-Japan trilateral security cooperation within the lenses of the balance of threat theory and the concept of national strategic identities. She also attained her BA with high honors in International Relations and Global Studies, with a concentration in International Security and a minor in Asian Studies, from the University
of Texas at Austin. She spent a year abroad studying at Korea University’s Division of International Studies.

Research interests: US-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation, Korea-Japan relations, integrated deterrence, and trans-Atlantic-Pacific coordination

Maria TANYAG

Dr. Maria Tanyag is Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. She specializes in critical and feminist approaches to global peace and security, focusing on the Asia Pacific region, and Southeast Asia in particular. She was selected as one of the inaugural International Studies Association (ISA) Emerging Global South Scholars in 2019, as resident Women, Peace, and Security Fellow at Pacific Forum (Hawaii) in 2021, and as a British Academy Visiting Fellow (2023). She is author of the forthcoming book The Global Politics of Sexual and Reproductive Health with Oxford University Press. Her latest publications are available via
 ResearchGate.

Research interests: Global politics of sexual and reproductive health; global political economy and social reproduction in crisis settings; feminist critiques of postconflict and postdisaster crisis response; feminist methodologies in IR.

Naoko AOKI

Naoko Aoki is an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has worked on a variety of security issues in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japanese foreign and security policies, American alliances in Asia, the North Korean nuclear problem, nuclear dynamics in the region as well as policies regarding emerging technologies. 

Prior to joining RAND, Aoki was a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Her professional experience includes a nuclear security fellowship at the House of Representatives. She was also a 2018–2019 Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow and an adjunct political scientist at RAND. Additionally, she was an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), American University, University of Maryland, and University of Southern California’s Washington DC program.

She was formerly a journalist with Japan’s Kyodo News, reporting on the Japanese government from Tokyo before serving as a Beijing correspondent. She has visited North Korea 18 times on reporting trips. She holds a Ph.D. in policy studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, an M.A. in international relations and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University SAIS, and a B.A. in English from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. 

Research interests: Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, East Asia Nuclear security, nuclear deterrence, arms control, U.S. alliances, security cooperation, emerging technology policy, diplomacy, politics and government

Norito KUNISUE

Project Professor, RCAST, University of Tokyo

Olena Akimova

Education: National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"
(now - KPI named after Igor Sikorskyi), Faculty of Sociology, speciality "administrative management" and an Honors degree. Faculty of Sociology, postgraduate, speciality
"philosophy".
Career: She has teaching experience at the "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" from 2016 to present at the Department of Management Theory and Practice, Department of Philosophy and Department of Sociology and Law, KPI.
Areas of Interests: Higher Education 
- Policy Analysis 
- Public governance 
- Sustainability 
- Information Society
Some of her publications include Improvement of Ways of Human Capital Development as a Factor of Increase Mobilization Potential of Ukraine: Monograph, Management in the sphere of education and science to ensure the sustainable development of the state and regions. She has over 50 scientific publications and co-authors, 11 collective publications and 14 articles.

Philip Shetler-Jones

Education: University of Sheffield, UK National Institute of Japanese studies, PhD

Career: various positions at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) , Chatham House, World Economic Forum (WEF) , OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, Ukraine, EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) Georgia, UK Stabilisation Unit, ASEAN Regional Forum, NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe (SHAPE), European External Action Service (EEAS), United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations,  United Nations Mission in Sudan, UNPROFOR, IFOR.

Ryo HINATA-YAMAGUCHI, Ph.D.

Project Assistant Professor/Project Research Associate

His areas of specializations are Asian Politics and International Relations, Strategy and Defense, Transport Security

Working Group 4 on the Emerging Issues in Security Studies
Working Group 5 on Indo-Pacific Transport Security (Chair)
Sub-Working Group 1 on Satellite Imagery Analysis Project
Sub-Working Group 2 on Tabletop Exercises (Chair)

Ryo HINATA-YAMAGUCHI is a Project Assistant Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo; Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Indo-Pacific Security Initiative; and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum. Ryo has presented, published, and consulted on a variety of topics relating to defense and security, and transport governance in the Indo-Pacific. Ryo previously served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (reserve) and also held positions at the Pusan National University, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, FM Bird Entertainment Agency, International Crisis Group Seoul Office, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Embassy of Japan in Australia, and the Japan Foundation Sydney Language Centre. Ryo received his PhD from the University of New South Wales, MA in Strategic and Defense Studies and BA in Security Analysis from the Australian National University and was also a Korea Foundation Language Training Fellow.

Twitter: @tigerrhy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tigerrhy/
Blog (Japanese): https://note.com/tigerrhy/

Ryoya ISHIMOTO, Ph.D.

Project Researcher
Ryoya ISHIMOTO is a Project Researcher at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo.
His research interests are International Relations, especially American diplomatic history, international security, and the history of U.S.-Japan security relations. 
He holds a Ph.D. from Doshisha University, Japan.

S. Paul CHOI

S. Paul Choi (최석훈) is Principal at StratWays Group, a Seoul-based geopolitical risk advisory. He specializes in political-military affairs, international security, strategy design, and deterrence.
 
Choi provides counsel to government agencies, think-tanks, investment banks, and businesses. He engages in track 1.5 dialogues and speaks at academic and policy institutions around the world. His commentary appears in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Financial Times, NPR, and JoongAng Ilbo.
 
Previously, Choi worked as a Strategist and International Relations Specialist at the United Nations Command / Republic of Korea (ROK) – U.S. Combined Forces Command in the Commander's Strategic Initiatives Group and in the Directorate for Strategy, Policy, and Plans (2013-18). In this capacity, he assisted in the establishment of the ROK-U.S. Deterrence Strategy Committee, the ROK-U.S. Tailored Deterrence Strategy, and various bilateral operational plans.

He has also been a Stanton Nuclear Policy Fellow at RAND (2022-23), Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations (2011-13), Visiting Scholar at Fudan University (2011), and Faculty Lecturer at the Korea Military Academy (2007-10). 

Choi’s published analyses include “As World Order Shifts, So Does South Korean Security Policy” (Arms Control Today, Vol. 53:6, July/August 2023); “Managing Competition: Arms Limitations and Beyond” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 05, 2022); “The Limits of Operational Integration” (Alliances, Nuclear Weapons and Escalation: Managing Deterrence in the 21st Century, Australia National University Press, December, 2021); “Deterring North Korea: The Need for Collective Resolve and Alliance Transformation” (38 North, Stimson Center, July 2020).

Research interests: security, defense, strategy, alliances

Satoshi IKEUCHI

Professor

Satoshi Ikeuchi is Professor of the Division of Religion and Global Security at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) of the University of Tokyo. He is the founding head of the RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies (ROLES).

For the year 2022-2023, he is Senior Visiting Scholar in Residence at the Moshe Dayan Center (MDC) for Middle Eastern and African Studies of Tel Aviv University.

He is a scholar on Islamic political thought and the Middle East politics. As a leading public intellectual in Japan, he has been vigorously publishing on the Middle East and Islamic affairs.

His first publication based on his doctoral studies, Gendai Arabu-no Shakai Shiso: Shumatsuron-to Isramu-shugi (Contemporary Arab Social Thought: Eschatology and Islamism), was published in 2002 and earned Osaragi Jiro Prize for Critical Works. He also earned Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities in 2009 for his book Islamu Sekai-no Ronjikata (Methods of Discussing Islam).

His book on the Islamic State Isulamu Koku no Shogeki (The Impact of the Islamic State) published in January 2015 was a nation-wide best seller in Japan and awarded Mainichi Publishing Cultural Prize. His recent publication includes Saikusu Piko Kyotei: Hyakunen no Jubaku (Sykes-Picot Agreement: One Hundred Years of Obsession) in 2016 and Shiiaha to Sunniha (Shite and Sunnite) in 2018 both published from Shinchosha. He is the recipient of the 12th Nakasone Yasuhiro Prize in 2016 for his academic works and social engagements.

His collection of literary essays and book reviews Shomotsu not Unmei (The Fate of Books) published in 2006 and earned Mainichi Book Review Award for the year.

He was a visiting professor at the Alexandria University 2007-2008, Japan Scholar chair visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 2009 and Visiting Fellow at the Clare Hall, University of Cambridge in 2010. 

He specializes in Middle East politics and Arab-Islamic Thought, particularly on global Jihadism and its implications for international security.

Shang-Su WU

Assistant Professor and Research Coordinator, Homeland Security Programme, Rabdan Academy

Shang-Su Wu is an assistant professor and research coordinator at the Homeland Security Program, the Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He was a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Wu has a PhD from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is the author of The Defence Capabilities of Small States: Singapore and Taiwan’s Responses to Strategic Desperation (London: Palgrave, 2016). Wu’s articles, commentaries and op-eds have been published in Asian Survey, Contemporary Southeast Asia, the Pacific Review, Defence Studies, Naval War College Review, and Asia Policy, among others.

Research interests: cross-strait relations, military security in Southeast Asia, railways of international relations

Sungmin CHO

Dr. Sungmin Cho is a professor of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), an academic institute of the US Department of Defense. His area of expertise covers US-China competition, Chinese politics and the geopolitics of Northeast Asia. Dr. Cho has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, including World Politics, Journal of Contemporary China, The China Journal, Asian Security, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, and Korea Observer. His policy analysis also appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, and War on the Rocks. Dr.Cho contributed commentaries at the invitations of CSIS, Brookings and other think tanks. Prior to the academic career, Dr. Cho served in the Korean Army as an intelligence officer for three years, including seven-month deployment to Iraq. He earned B.A. in Political Science from Korea University, M.A. in International Relations from Peking University, and Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University.

Takuya MATSUDA, Ph.D.

Project Researcher
Takuya Matsuda is a Project Researcher at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo working on international security affairs. His research focuses primarily on alliance politics, great power relations, international relations theory, and U.S. grand strategy. Takuya was formerly a visiting scholar at the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University and a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow at the Notre Dame International Security Center. His work on international security affairs has been published both in scholarly and policy outlets such as the Australian Journal of International Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, War on the Rocks, Foreign Policy, and the Diplomat. Takuya holds a Ph.D. from the War Studies Department at King’s College London, a M.A. from Johns Hopkin University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and B.A, from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. 

Twitter: @takuyamatsuda1

Tomonori YOSHIZAKI

He was Vice President for Academic Affairs of Japan MoD’s National Institute for Defence Studies (NIDS). At NIDS, He was Director of Policy Simulation (2015-22), and Director of Security Studies Department (2011-2015) at NIDS.  He has been regularly attending NATO Defence College Conference of Commandants (COC), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Meeting of Head of National Defense Universities/Colleges/Institutions. He is currently a visiting professor/lecture at Self-Defence Forces Staff Colleges, Tokyo University for Foreign Studies, and National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). Previously, he was an assistant director of Office of Strategic Studies of MoD, a visiting scholar at Kings College London, and Hudson Institute; His areas of expertise include alliance management, European security and NATO, Japan’s security policy and peace operations.

Tonny Dian EFFENDI

Tonny Dian Effendi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia.

He was a visiting research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Japan, the Institute of International Relations (IIR)-National Cheng Chi University, Taiwan, as well as a visiting scholar at the Department of International Relations and Public Administration,
Universidade do Minho, Portugal. He experienced in conducting research under the Sumitomo Foundation’s Japan-related research program, the Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange (SEASREP) Program’s research
program, the Australian National University (ANU) Indonesia Project, the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) research-publication program, and the
international collaborative research under the Ministry of Higher Education, Republic of Indonesia. He obtained his Bachelor of Social Science in International Relations from Universitas Jember in Indonesia, while his master’s degree was obtained from Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (Master of Science in Sociology) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (Master of Social Science- by research in International Relations). Currently, he is a PhD candidate from the Institute of Political Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan.

Research interests: International Relations; diplomacy; constructivism; East Asia regional studies; China; Indonesia; diaspora

Tsuyoshi GOROKU

Associate Professor, Faculty of International Politics and Economics, Department of International Politics and Economics, Nishogakusha University
Specialised in the history of US-European relations and European security.

Assistant Professor at Keio University Graduate School of Law (research fellowship), researcher at EU Studies Institute in Tokyo (EUSI) (stay in Ukraine), part-time lecturer at the Maritime Self-Defence Force Staff College, before becoming a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of International Politics and Economics, Nishimatsu Gakusha University (2017-2022), current position from April 2022. . He is also a visiting researcher at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) (2017-) and a research member of the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) (2017-). 

Wakako ITO, Ph.D.

Senior Program Coordinator

Yoshihiro INABA

Yoshihiro Inaba is a doctoral student at Senshu University Graduate School, studying Japanese defense legislation and international law related to the use of force (jus ad bellum). He is also a freelance military writer, covering the JSDF, US Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and other national militaries, as well as defense-related companies in Japan and abroad. He has contributed articles to Japanese military magazines and is the first Japanese contributor to Naval News, a France-based web media specializing in naval affairs.

Research interests: international law (jus ad bellum), Japanese security legislation, naval topics

Zack COOPER

Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Zack Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies US strategy in Asia, including alliance dynamics and US-China competition. He also teaches at Princeton University and is currently writing a book that explains how militaries change during power shifts.

Before joining AEI, Dr. Cooper was the senior fellow for Asian security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He previously worked as codirector of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He also served as assistant to the deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism at the National Security Council and as a special assistant to the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense.

Dr. Cooper has been published in academic journals, including International Security and Security Studies, and in the popular press, such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, among other outlets. He has also authored a variety of studies on Asia, on topics including US military strategy and posture in Asia, Chinese coercion, and US defense cooperation with regional allies and partners. He is the coeditor of two books,
Postwar Japan: Growth, Security, and Uncertainty Since 1945 (CSIS/Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and Strategic Japan: New Approaches to Foreign Policy and the U.S.-Japan Alliance (CSIS/Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

Dr. Cooper graduated from Princeton University with a PhD and an MA in security studies and an MPA in international relations. He received a BA in public policy from Stanford University.

Research interests: Asia, alliances, defense strategy, military technology, U.S. foreign policy, U.S.-China competition

【Adjunct Member】Michito TSURUOKA

Education: Keio University Faculty of Law, Georgetown University's graduate school and Georgetown University's graduate school, PhD in War Studies, King's College London
Areas of Expertise: International security, European politics, NATO; European integration, European politics, international security, NATO, the EU, nuclear policy, extended deterrence, and defence diplomacy. 
Career: Specialist researcher at the Japanese Embassy in Belgium at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in charge of NATO, researcher at the GMF (German et al.), Instructor at the National Institute for Defense Studies at the Ministry of Defense from 2009 to 2017, multilateral security in the Asia-Pacific International Policy Division of the Defense Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Defense (Defense Department), in charge of, particularly ADMM Plus (Expanded ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, visiting researcher at RUSI (Royal Institute for Defense and Security Studies). Concurrently serves as a senior researcher at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research.

【Adjunct Menber】Atsuko HIGASHINO

Education: University of Birmingham Department of Political Science and International Studies, Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Birmingham
Career: Specialist researcher at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the OECD, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Full-time lecturer, Faculty of Politics and International Relations, University of Birmingham (fixed term) Lecturer, Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University, Associate Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University, (current) University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of International Public Policy
Interests: International Relations and Politics
Publications: Europe in decline due to the Ukraine War Foreword,  Current status and prospects of the war in Ukraine, Hiroshima and Peace and many more books and articles.

【Adjunct Menber】Yoshihiko OKABE

Education: Doctor of Philosophy in History Chubu University2021/09/30
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Kobe Gakuin University2015/03
Research Areas: Humanities & Social Sciences Economic history Ukrainian Studies
Humanities & Social Sciences Historical studies in general
Research Interests
General studies of Ukraine
Ukraine Political economy of Ukraine
Ukrainian diaspora in Manchuria Harbin 
Working group
Activity record
Member

Working group

"Peace Building and Establishment of Order in the Middle East and Africa" International Study Group

In cooperation with research institutions and researchers in conflict zones and relevant countries in the Middle East and Africa, this study group will discuss new approaches to resolving civil wars and regional conflicts and present recommendations to the Japanese and relevant governments.

"Theory and Practice of Conflict Resolution" Study Group

This study group will assess the current situation of civil wars and regional conflicts in developing countries, especially in the Middle East and Africa, many of which have become protracted and stalemated. The group will propose new solutions that contribute to conflict resolution and peace building.

"Japan's Position in the International Energy Order" Study Group

This study group will examine ways for Japan to actively participate in forming the international energy order. The group will attempt to understand the conditions Japan finds itself in the international energy order that is shaped by both the competition for technology development and standardization toward decarbonization, market trends in various countries and regions, and geopolitical factors such as the situation in the Middle East and Africa and the war in Russia and Ukraine.

"Analysis and Remodeling of Japan’s Value-Oriented Diplomacy" Study Group

This study group will examine the role of Japan’s diplomacy in the current state of international affairs. In this era of "interstate competition" between major countries and advanced nations, especially the West and authoritarian states such as China and Russia, what kind of ideological underpinnings should Japan base its diplomacy on? This study group will examine Japan's historical developments and the nature of its value-oriented diplomacy.

"Analysis and Remodeling of the Relations between Religion and Society" International Study Group

This study group will bring together researchers from Asia, Western and Eastern Europe (including Russia) and North America to focus on themes of religion, including religion in contemporary Japanese society. The group aims to understand various issues in the international community that have religious underpinnings, and communicate internationally about the values of contemporary Japanese society.

“Analysis and Remodeling of Contemporary Religious Philosophy” International Study Group

Religion serves as the foundation supporting the basic ideas of societies, and is worth examining to better understand states’ behaviors. This study group will include scholars of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in addition to Japanese Buddhist monks and Shinto priests, to analyze these factors and linkages. Further, by relativizing Japanese religious thought and disseminating it abroad,Japan can be better understood by the international community.

"Analysis and Remodeling of 'Western' Logic" Study Group

This study will focus on the politics and diplomacy of major "Western" states. Currently, developed states that adhere to Western-promoted universal values such as freedom, democracy, respect for fundamental human rights, and the rule of law are facing internal political and social upheaval as well as external threats from authoritarian states such as China and Russia. This study group will discuss and disseminate policy recommendations for  Western-oriented developed countries facing such situations.

Sub-Group 3 on "SDGs and Diplomatic Strategies"

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to discuss international security issues in the context of the SDGs. Focusing on infectious diseases, poverty, discrimination, environmental pollution, and climate change, the study group will discuss the links between the environment and human security, energy security, resources and supply chains, and interstate conflicts.

"Security Cooperation Mechanisms" International Study Group

This study group will bring together experts from various countries to examine multilateral security cooperation based on the Japan-U.S. relationship amid U.S.-China great power competition. In particular, the group will discuss how to maintain a stable international order in cooperation with Asia-Pacific and NATO states while maintaining limited but functional engagement with China.

Sub-Group 2 on "Maritime and Transportation Security"

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to discuss the threats and vulnerabilities to maritime and transportation systems. Focusing specifically on the theme of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the group will conduct discussions and tabletop exercises to analyze threats posed by military, terrorist, and criminal organizations; the mutual impact of non-traditional security issues; and security problems created by intermodal transport systems.

"Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group

This study group will bring together experts from various countries to examine the developments and issues in the Indo-Pacific security environment. The group will cover a wide range of areas including: defense; maritime and transport security; environmental and human security; new and emerging technologies and economic security.  The study group consists of four subgroups: "Security and Defense Strategy"; "Maritime and Transportation Security"; "SDGs and Diplomatic Strategies"; and “New and Emerging Technologies”.

Sub-Group 4 on “New and Emerging Technologies”

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to discuss the impact of new and emerging technologies in the Indo-Pacific region. In particular, the group will look at how new technologies create opportunities but also issues from the economic security standpoint and also national industries, as well as impact interstate relations region.

Sub-Group 1 on "Security and Defense Strategy"

This sub-group is part of the "Indo-Pacific Security" International Study Group and brings together experts from various countries to examine recent developments in defense strategies and trends in the Indo-Pacific. In particular, the group will conduct discussions and tabletop exercises to analyze how emerging technologies and new operational concepts, hybrid warfare, and developments in the land, sea, air, space, cyber, electromagnetic, and cognitive domains are causing transformations in regional military affairs. The group will also discuss how Japan should respond to these changes.

Member

Aiko SHIMIZU

Aiko Shimizu is the Japan Digital Inclusion Lead at Microsoft, where she focuses on AI, cybersecurity, digital skilling, and sustainability, and an Adjunct Fellow at the Pacific Forum. 

Prior to her current role, Aiko has worked in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors across the United States, Japan, and Germany, including at Twitter, BMW and Daimler urban mobility joint venture SHARE NOW (formerly car2go), Bloomberg, the United Nations, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. She has also been selected as a U.S.-Japan Council Emerging Leader, an Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Fellow, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader, a Salzburg Global Fellow, and an Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leader. Aiko received her graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She received her Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Chicago.

Research interests: Artificial Intelligence (AI), technology, cybersecurity, sustainability, mobility, energy 

Anna Mykolayivna Ishchenko

Education: obtained a Bachelor's degree at the National Technical University of Ukraine, Faculty of Sociology—postgraduate study in philosophy of education at National Technical University of Ukraine, faculty of sociology and law. Anna Mykolayivna Ischenko has a strong sociology background and extensive field experience, including a diverse range of research interests and practical activities. Her work in applied sociology, human capital development, and education philosophy demonstrates her commitment to contributing to the field of sociology and society at large.
Education: Bachelor's degree National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" (Kyiv), Faculty of Sociology Specialty "Sociology."
Career: has had an internship at Masaryk University Training Week (MUST Week) under the Erasmus+ program, Scientific and Practical Seminar: "Qualitative Methods in Sociological Research" (Higher School of Sociology at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and currently the Director of the Scientific Research Center of Applied Sociology "Sotsioplus", 
Field of Scientific Interests:
Applied Sociology
Factors of Formation and Development of Human Capital
Philosophy of Education
Expert Research Methods
Publications: Some of her publications include: "Formation of a Positive Image of a Female Manager in the Civil Service" (co-authored with A. A. Melnychenko, O. A. Akimova, and others) - Published by the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union.
"Foresight of the Development of the Defense-Industrial Complex of Ukraine in the Time Horizon of 2021–2030" (as the Scientific Project Manager) - Published by the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" and many other titles.

Ariel STENEK

PhD student, GRIPS Global Governance Program, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

Ariel Stenek is a PhD student in the GRIPS Global Governance Program (Security and International Studies concentration) at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. Previously she was director of the Young Leaders Program at Pacific Forum, an initiative that supports a global network of over 1,500 young professionals working in foreign policy and security studies, and was co-lead investigator of Pacific Forum's Women, Peace and Security program. Past positions include interning at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and working on UNESCO's Silk Roads Programme. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from Queen Mary, University of London (Paris campus) and a B.A. in Global Politics and Societies with a minor in European Studies from the University of San Francisco. Her research interests include maritime security, U.S.-Japan relations, and Indo-Pacific security architecture.

Arius DERR

Arius Derr is a PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at The Australian National University. His research focuses on the North Korea nuclear issue. In particular, he explores US relations with nuclear powers over time and how it has ‘learned to live’ with new proliferators. His research is also concerned with deterrence in East Asia and how and why it impacts the objectives of the US and its allies in the region. 

He is Editor at Korea Risk Group and its primary publications NK News and NK Pro, as well as Korea Desk Editor at the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER)’s East Asia Forum.

Arius’ main interests include US foreign policy in East Asia, the Korean Peninsula, great power competition and international security. His work has been published in the Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, East Asia Forum, the Centre for International Governance Innovation and other outlets.

He has also worked as Editor at KBS, South Korea’s public broadcaster, Research Associate in the Strategy Division of United States Forces Korea, and as Consultant for the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Research interests: Nuclear weapons, deterrence, international security, great power competition, US foreign policy, alliance management, East Asia, North Korea, South Korea, Australia

Atsuko HIGASHINO

Professor, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences
Specialised in international relations theory, European international politics, EU Eastern enlargement and external relations.

Bich TRAN

Dr. Bich Tran is a postdoctoral fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. 
In addition to being an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC, she has been a visiting fellow at the East West Center, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS-Asia), and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute among others.

Dr. Tran obtained her PhD in Political Science from the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She has published on various platforms, including Asia Pacific Issues, Asian Perspective, Asian Politics & Policy, The Diplomat, East Asia Forum, and Fulcrum. Dr. Tran is the author of “Vietnam's Strategic Adjustments and US Policy” (Survival 64, no. 6, 77–90). A full list of her publications can be found on ResearchGate.

Research interests: Vietnam’s grand strategy, Vietnam-China relations, Vietnam-US relations, ASEAN, maritime security 

Christopher LAMONT

Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Assistant Dean of E-Track Programs and Professor, Institute for International Strategy, Tokyo International University

Christopher Lamont is Assistant Dean of E-Track Programs and Professor of International Relations. Previously, he held a tenured position at the University of Groningen, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulster. He was also previously a Fulbright scholar at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. He holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow and has published widely on human rights and transitional justice. His recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Democracy, the International Journal of Human Rights, Global Policy, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, and Human Rights Review. He also co-edited, New Crifical Spaces in Transitional Justice (with Arnaud Kurze, Indiana University Press, 2019) and is the author of two research methods textbooks, Research Methods in International Relations (Sage 2015, second edition 2021), and Research Methods in Politics and International Relations (with Mieczyslaw Boduszyński, Sage 2020). In addition to his scholarly work, his writings have also appeared in Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage.

Collin KOH Swee Lean

Collin Koh is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies which is a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has research interests on naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Southeast Asia. Collin has published several op-eds, policy- and academic journal articles as well as chapters for edited volumes covering his research areas. He has also taught at Singapore Armed Forces professional military education and training courses. Besides research and teaching, Collin also contributes his perspectives to various local and international media outlets and participates in activities with geopolitical risks consultancies.

DongJoon PARK

Dr. DongJoon Park is a Research Fellow at the Jeju Peace Institute (JPI). He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the department of Government at Georgetown University in 2020, and his research focuses on the role of reputations in international relations, alliance politics, and, more broadly, the impact of perceptions on crisis decision-making. His previous roles/positions include, POSCO Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center (2023), Research Professor at the Peace and Democracy Institute (PDI) at Korea University (2023), Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Security and Conflict Studies (ISCS) at George Washington University (2020-2021), and James A. Kelly Korea Research Fellow in residence at Pacific Forum (2011-2012).

Emma VERGES

Emma Verges is a Program Assistant with the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) within the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. With a background in Chinese history, culture, and politics, she produces critical analyses and forward-thinking strategies in support of the Initiative’s work on the most pressing issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on her knowledge of international order through the lens of international human rights and immigration, Emma has expanded her scope of work to include US-Japan-ROK Trilateral Cooperation, Integrated Deterrence of Adversary Limited Nuclear Use in East Asia, and Trans-Atlantic-Pacific coordination to defend the rules-based international system.
 
Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Emma received her master’s degree in global affairs as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her time in China lends a unique perspective to her work. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Russian Studies from Macalester College. 

Research interests: China, Russia, human rights, immigration, soft power issues

Eunjung LIM

Eunjung Lim is an Associate Professor at Division of International Studies, Kongju National University (KNU). She served as Vice President for International Affairs, Dean of Institute of Korean Education and Culture, and Dean of Institute of International Language Education at the same university.

Her areas of specialization include international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, comparative and global governance, and energy, nuclear, and climate change policies of East Asian countries. Since 2018, she has served as a board member of Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC), and currently serves as a member of Policy Advisory Committee for Ministry of Unification. She is also the chair of Japan Studies Committee of The Korean Association of International Studies.

Before joining the KNU faculty, Dr. Lim served as an Assistant Professor at College of International Studies, Ritsumeikan University, in Kyoto, Japan. She also taught at several universities in the United States and Korea, including Johns Hopkins University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. She has been a researcher and a visiting fellow at academic institutes including the Center for Contemporary Korean Studies at Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo, the Institute of Japanese Studies at Seoul National University, the Institute of Japan Studies at Kookmin University, and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.

She earned a B.A. from the University of Tokyo, an M.I.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

Research interests: international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, comparative and global governance, energy security, resource security, nuclear policies, fuel cycle policies, climate change policies

Fedorchenko-Kutuyev Pavlo

Education: Habilitation (Doctor of Sciences) in Sociology, Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University (2005), Master of Public Administration, Institute of Public Administration and Local Government, Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine, with a major in Law and Politics (1995), Kandydat Nauk (Ph.D.) in Sociology, Institute of Sociology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1994), Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, Kyiv State University of Economics (1993-1994), Diploma of Higher Education (MA) in Sociology with the highest distinction (summa cum laude), Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University (1993).
Career: Professor of Sociology, Sociology Department Chair, and Visiting Scholar at esteemed institutions in Ukraine and abroad. His career highlights include: Professor of Sociology and Sociology Department Chair, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (2013-Present), Visiting Scholar at prestigious institutions such as Stanford University (USA), University of Tokyo (Japan), St. John's College (Oxford University, UK), and others. Deputy Editor-in-Chief of KPI Journal of Sociology, Political Science, and Law (2013-Present), Executive Director of the Center for Comparative Politics, a Ukrainian non-governmental think tank (1993-1999).
Areas of Specialties: History of Sociology, Historical Sociology, Contemporary sociological theory, Sociology of development and modernization, Political Sociology, Conflict Resolution
Some publications: he has published some teaching manuals and 75 textbooks and articles.

Guibourg Delamotte

Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Professor of Political Science at the French Institute of Oriental Studies (Inalco)

Areas of Expertise:
Security and International Relations in Asia
Japanese Foreign and Defense Policies
Japanese Internal Politics and Political System

Guibourg was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Tokyo College of the University of Tokyo, from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. Her in-person stay in Tokyo was from July to August 2022 and she gave an intensive lecture course at the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) of the University of Tokyo in early August.

Guibourg was Visiting Fellow of the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) of the University of Tokyo during her visit to Tokyo and participated in research activities and education at the Division of Religion and Global Security of RCAST and in particular ROLES (RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies). 

In 2023, now a Full Professor at Inalco, she is invited as Visiting Senior Research Fellow of RCAST and Associate Research Fellow of Tokyo College.

Her latest books are:
Le Japon, un leader discret - Eyrolles, 2023.
La Democratie au Japon, singuliere et universelle - ENS Ed. 2022.
The Abe Legacy. How Japan has been shaped by Abe Shinzo (coed. J. Brown, R. Dujarric) - Lexington, 2021.
Geopolitique et geoeconomie du monde contemporain. Puissance et conflits (coed. C. Tellenne) - La Decouverte, 2021.

Hideaki SHINODA

Education: PhD in International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), University of London, UK (1998), MA in Political Science, Waseda University, Japan (1993), BA, Waseda University, Japan (1991). 
Professional Positions) After working as a part-time teacher at LSE and Keele University, he took a research fellow position at the Institute for Peace Science of Hiroshima University, where he became Associate Professor. Then, he took the current position at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 2013. He has been a visiting scholar at the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law, Cambridge University (2000) and at the Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University (2002). He was Visiting Professional at the International Criminal Court (2017).
Publications) He is the author of many books and articles including Partnership Peace Operations: UN and Regional Organizations in Multiple Layers of International Security (Routledge, 2024). He has received academic awards including Osaragi Jiro Rondan Award of Asahi Newspaper (2003), Suntory Academic Award (2012), Yomiuri Yoshino Sakuzo Award of Yomiuri Newspaper (2017).

Iurii Perga

Education: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, postgraduate study of National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" Wroclaw University Candidate of Historical Sciences and internship with the University of Warsaw, Bergen-Belsen Memorial, and Vytautas Magnus University.
Interests: Ukrainian-Polish relations in the first half of the twentieth century; history of ICT development in the EU
Publications: author of 20+ scientific publications

Jasmin ALSAIED

Jasmin Alsaied is a non-resident fellow with the Middle East Institute as part of the defense and security portfolio. She has published with CSIS, The Diplomat, Asia Times, Charged Affairs, and more.

Research interests: nuclear challenges in the Indo-Pacific; emerging tech integration; alliance strategy and cohesion 

Jeffrey ORDANIEL

Dr. Jeffrey Ordaniel is a non-resident Senior Adjunct Fellow and Director for Maritime Security at the Pacific Forum. Concurrently, he is also an Associate Professor of International Security Studies at Tokyo International University (TIU) in Japan. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and specializes in the study of offshore territorial and maritime entitlement disputes in Asia. His teaching and research revolve around maritime security and ocean governance, ASEAN regionalism, and broadly, U.S. alliances and engagements in the Indo-Pacific. 

From 2016 to 2019, he was based in Honolulu and was the holder of the endowed Admiral Joe Vasey Fellowship at the Pacific Forum. Since 2019, Dr. Ordaniel has been convening several maritime security-related working groups and track 2 dialogues aiming to generate sound, pragmatic, and actionable policy prescriptions for the region. His current research on maritime security in Asia is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2020-2024.

Research interests: Maritime Security, US-Philippine Alliance, Southeast Asian International Relations

John BRADFORD

John F. Bradford is the inaugural Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Indonesia.  He is also an adjunct senior fellow in the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.  His research focuses on Asian security with special attention given to maritime issues and cooperative affairs. His written work can be found in journals such as Contemporary Southeast Asia, Asia Policy, Asian Security, Asian Survey, Naval War College Review, and Naval Institute Proceedings as well as in edited volumes, online publications and monographs published by leading international think tanks.

Prior to becoming a full-time researcher, he spent more than twenty-three years as a U.S. Navy officer. As a Surface Warfare Officer, he served as Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Combat Systems Officer, Chief Engineer, Navigator, and First Lieutenant in ships forward-deployed to Japan. His staff assignments included service as Deputy Director for the U.S. Seventh Fleet Maritime Headquarters, as Regional Cooperation Coordinator for the U.S. Seventh Fleet, as Country Director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Asia-Pacific Politico-military Branch Chief on the Navy Staff. As an Olmsted Scholar, CDR Bradford studied in the Department of Political Science at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia and completed an MSc (Strategic Studies) from RSIS. He is also a graduate of Japan’s National Institute of Defense Studies and is proud of the training he received as a midshipman aboard the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD Rahmat. A list of his publications can be viewed here.

Research interests: Asian security, maritime issues, security cooperation

Jonathan BERKSHIRE MILLER

Jonathan is Director of the Foreign Affairs, National
Security, and Defence program at the Ottawa-based Macdonald Laurier Institute. He is also concurrently a senior fellow with the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and senior fellow on East Asia for the Tokyo-based Asian Forum Japan. Miller also is the Director and co-founder of the Council on International Policy. He also holds appointments as Canada’s ASEAN Regional Forum Expert and Eminent Person (EEP) and as a Responsible Leader for the BMW Foundation. Previously, he was an international affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, based in Tokyo. Other former appointments and roles include terms as a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Senior Fellow on East Asia for the New York-based EastWest Institute.

Miller also held a fellowship on Japan with the Pacific Forum CSIS from 2013-16, and has held a number of other visiting fellowships on Asian security matters, including at JIIA and the National Institute of Defense Studies (Ministry of Defense - Japan). In addition, Miller previously spent nearly a decade working on economic and security issues related to Asia with the Canadian federal government and worked both with the foreign ministry and the security community. He regularly attends track 1.5 and track 2 dialogues in the region and lectures to universities, think-tanks, corporations and others across the Asia-Pacific region on security and defense issues. He regularly consults, provides advice and presents to the private sector, multilateral organizations and governments on regional geopolitics.

Jonathan is a regular contributor to several journals, magazines and newspapers on Asia-Pacific security issues including The Economist Intelligence Unit, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy and Nikkei Asian Review. He has also published widely in other outlets including Forbes, Newsweek Japan, the Globe and Mail, the World Affairs Journal, the Japan Times, the Mainichi Shimbun, the ASAN Forum, Jane’s Intelligence Review and Global Asia. Miller has been interviewed and quoted on regional security issues across a wide range of media including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, Le Monde, Nikkei, the Japan Times, Asahi Shimbun, the Voice of America, the Globe and Mail, CBC, CTV and ABC news.

Research interests: Indo-Pacific security; strategic competition; 5EYES and 5EYES plus engagement in region; intelligence cooperation; US-Japan-ROK; ASEAN; emerging technologies; economic security; supply chain resilience

Katherine YUSKO

Katherine Yusko is a project assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, where she supports research and analysis of US relations in East Asia, transatlantic-Pacific alliance building, and nuclear/conflict deterrence strategies. Her most recent research focused on identifying areas for US-Papua New Guinea cooperation on climate security challenges.
 
Yusko earned her BA in Culture and Conflict from New York University with a minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. She holds a master’s degree in International Affairs, with a concentration in International Security Policy and a specialization in International Conflict Resolution, from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Kohei TOYODA

Co-operative Research Fellow

Working Group 2 on Middle Eastern and Islamic Alternatives
Working Group 5 on Indo-Pacific Transport Security (Assistant Coordinator)
Sub-Working Group 2 on Tabletop Exercises (Assistant Coordinator)

Twitter: @toyodadesuyo

Kristi GOVELLA

Dr. Kristi Govella is Director of the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs and an Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She specializes in the intersection of economics and security in international relations, with a particular focus on the Indo-Pacific region and Japan. Dr. Govella’s research has examined topics such as economic statecraft, trade, investment, multinational firms, alliances, regional institutional architecture, and the governance of the global commons. In addition to her publications in journals and edited books, she is the co-editor of two books: Linking Trade and Security: Evolving Institutions and Strategies in Asia, Europe, and the United States (2013) and Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States (2012). She serves as an Adjunct Fellow at the East-West Center and Pacific Forum and as Editor of the journal Asia Policy

Dr. Govella was previously Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Asia Program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, and an Associate Professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. She has also been a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo and Waseda University. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Research interests: economic statecraft, economic security, economic coercion, trade, investment, firms, alliances, regional institutional architecture, maritime security, cyberspace, outer space, non-traditional security

Kyoko IMAI

Atlantic Council Assistant Director, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative 

Lauren GILBERT

Lauren Gilbert is an associate director with the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. In
this role, she oversees research and programming focused on engaging with US, allied, and partner governments and other key stakeholders to shape strategies and policies to
mitigate the most important rising security challenges facing the region. In particular, her work focuses on US-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation, Korea-Japan relations,
integrated deterrence, and trans-Atlantic-Pacific coordination with the aim of defending the rules-based international system.

Originally from Texas, Gilbert holds an MIS in International Cooperation from Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies. Her thesis focused on an
analysis of US-ROK-Japan trilateral security cooperation within the lenses of the balance of threat theory and the concept of national strategic identities. She also attained her BA with high honors in International Relations and Global Studies, with a concentration in International Security and a minor in Asian Studies, from the University
of Texas at Austin. She spent a year abroad studying at Korea University’s Division of International Studies.

Research interests: US-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation, Korea-Japan relations, integrated deterrence, and trans-Atlantic-Pacific coordination

Maria TANYAG

Dr. Maria Tanyag is Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. She specializes in critical and feminist approaches to global peace and security, focusing on the Asia Pacific region, and Southeast Asia in particular. She was selected as one of the inaugural International Studies Association (ISA) Emerging Global South Scholars in 2019, as resident Women, Peace, and Security Fellow at Pacific Forum (Hawaii) in 2021, and as a British Academy Visiting Fellow (2023). She is author of the forthcoming book The Global Politics of Sexual and Reproductive Health with Oxford University Press. Her latest publications are available via
 ResearchGate.

Research interests: Global politics of sexual and reproductive health; global political economy and social reproduction in crisis settings; feminist critiques of postconflict and postdisaster crisis response; feminist methodologies in IR.

Naoko AOKI

Naoko Aoki is an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has worked on a variety of security issues in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japanese foreign and security policies, American alliances in Asia, the North Korean nuclear problem, nuclear dynamics in the region as well as policies regarding emerging technologies. 

Prior to joining RAND, Aoki was a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Her professional experience includes a nuclear security fellowship at the House of Representatives. She was also a 2018–2019 Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow and an adjunct political scientist at RAND. Additionally, she was an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), American University, University of Maryland, and University of Southern California’s Washington DC program.

She was formerly a journalist with Japan’s Kyodo News, reporting on the Japanese government from Tokyo before serving as a Beijing correspondent. She has visited North Korea 18 times on reporting trips. She holds a Ph.D. in policy studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, an M.A. in international relations and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University SAIS, and a B.A. in English from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. 

Research interests: Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, East Asia Nuclear security, nuclear deterrence, arms control, U.S. alliances, security cooperation, emerging technology policy, diplomacy, politics and government

Norito KUNISUE

Project Professor, RCAST, University of Tokyo

Olena Akimova

Education: National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"
(now - KPI named after Igor Sikorskyi), Faculty of Sociology, speciality "administrative management" and an Honors degree. Faculty of Sociology, postgraduate, speciality
"philosophy".
Career: She has teaching experience at the "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" from 2016 to present at the Department of Management Theory and Practice, Department of Philosophy and Department of Sociology and Law, KPI.
Areas of Interests: Higher Education 
- Policy Analysis 
- Public governance 
- Sustainability 
- Information Society
Some of her publications include Improvement of Ways of Human Capital Development as a Factor of Increase Mobilization Potential of Ukraine: Monograph, Management in the sphere of education and science to ensure the sustainable development of the state and regions. She has over 50 scientific publications and co-authors, 11 collective publications and 14 articles.

Philip Shetler-Jones

Education: University of Sheffield, UK National Institute of Japanese studies, PhD

Career: various positions at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) , Chatham House, World Economic Forum (WEF) , OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, Ukraine, EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) Georgia, UK Stabilisation Unit, ASEAN Regional Forum, NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe (SHAPE), European External Action Service (EEAS), United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations,  United Nations Mission in Sudan, UNPROFOR, IFOR.

Ryo HINATA-YAMAGUCHI, Ph.D.

Project Assistant Professor/Project Research Associate

His areas of specializations are Asian Politics and International Relations, Strategy and Defense, Transport Security

Working Group 4 on the Emerging Issues in Security Studies
Working Group 5 on Indo-Pacific Transport Security (Chair)
Sub-Working Group 1 on Satellite Imagery Analysis Project
Sub-Working Group 2 on Tabletop Exercises (Chair)

Ryo HINATA-YAMAGUCHI is a Project Assistant Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo; Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Indo-Pacific Security Initiative; and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum. Ryo has presented, published, and consulted on a variety of topics relating to defense and security, and transport governance in the Indo-Pacific. Ryo previously served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (reserve) and also held positions at the Pusan National University, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, FM Bird Entertainment Agency, International Crisis Group Seoul Office, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Embassy of Japan in Australia, and the Japan Foundation Sydney Language Centre. Ryo received his PhD from the University of New South Wales, MA in Strategic and Defense Studies and BA in Security Analysis from the Australian National University and was also a Korea Foundation Language Training Fellow.

Twitter: @tigerrhy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tigerrhy/
Blog (Japanese): https://note.com/tigerrhy/

Ryoya ISHIMOTO, Ph.D.

Project Researcher
Ryoya ISHIMOTO is a Project Researcher at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo.
His research interests are International Relations, especially American diplomatic history, international security, and the history of U.S.-Japan security relations. 
He holds a Ph.D. from Doshisha University, Japan.

S. Paul CHOI

S. Paul Choi (최석훈) is Principal at StratWays Group, a Seoul-based geopolitical risk advisory. He specializes in political-military affairs, international security, strategy design, and deterrence.
 
Choi provides counsel to government agencies, think-tanks, investment banks, and businesses. He engages in track 1.5 dialogues and speaks at academic and policy institutions around the world. His commentary appears in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Financial Times, NPR, and JoongAng Ilbo.
 
Previously, Choi worked as a Strategist and International Relations Specialist at the United Nations Command / Republic of Korea (ROK) – U.S. Combined Forces Command in the Commander's Strategic Initiatives Group and in the Directorate for Strategy, Policy, and Plans (2013-18). In this capacity, he assisted in the establishment of the ROK-U.S. Deterrence Strategy Committee, the ROK-U.S. Tailored Deterrence Strategy, and various bilateral operational plans.

He has also been a Stanton Nuclear Policy Fellow at RAND (2022-23), Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations (2011-13), Visiting Scholar at Fudan University (2011), and Faculty Lecturer at the Korea Military Academy (2007-10). 

Choi’s published analyses include “As World Order Shifts, So Does South Korean Security Policy” (Arms Control Today, Vol. 53:6, July/August 2023); “Managing Competition: Arms Limitations and Beyond” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 05, 2022); “The Limits of Operational Integration” (Alliances, Nuclear Weapons and Escalation: Managing Deterrence in the 21st Century, Australia National University Press, December, 2021); “Deterring North Korea: The Need for Collective Resolve and Alliance Transformation” (38 North, Stimson Center, July 2020).

Research interests: security, defense, strategy, alliances

Satoshi IKEUCHI

Professor

Satoshi Ikeuchi is Professor of the Division of Religion and Global Security at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) of the University of Tokyo. He is the founding head of the RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies (ROLES).

For the year 2022-2023, he is Senior Visiting Scholar in Residence at the Moshe Dayan Center (MDC) for Middle Eastern and African Studies of Tel Aviv University.

He is a scholar on Islamic political thought and the Middle East politics. As a leading public intellectual in Japan, he has been vigorously publishing on the Middle East and Islamic affairs.

His first publication based on his doctoral studies, Gendai Arabu-no Shakai Shiso: Shumatsuron-to Isramu-shugi (Contemporary Arab Social Thought: Eschatology and Islamism), was published in 2002 and earned Osaragi Jiro Prize for Critical Works. He also earned Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities in 2009 for his book Islamu Sekai-no Ronjikata (Methods of Discussing Islam).

His book on the Islamic State Isulamu Koku no Shogeki (The Impact of the Islamic State) published in January 2015 was a nation-wide best seller in Japan and awarded Mainichi Publishing Cultural Prize. His recent publication includes Saikusu Piko Kyotei: Hyakunen no Jubaku (Sykes-Picot Agreement: One Hundred Years of Obsession) in 2016 and Shiiaha to Sunniha (Shite and Sunnite) in 2018 both published from Shinchosha. He is the recipient of the 12th Nakasone Yasuhiro Prize in 2016 for his academic works and social engagements.

His collection of literary essays and book reviews Shomotsu not Unmei (The Fate of Books) published in 2006 and earned Mainichi Book Review Award for the year.

He was a visiting professor at the Alexandria University 2007-2008, Japan Scholar chair visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 2009 and Visiting Fellow at the Clare Hall, University of Cambridge in 2010. 

He specializes in Middle East politics and Arab-Islamic Thought, particularly on global Jihadism and its implications for international security.

Shang-Su WU

Assistant Professor and Research Coordinator, Homeland Security Programme, Rabdan Academy

Shang-Su Wu is an assistant professor and research coordinator at the Homeland Security Program, the Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He was a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Wu has a PhD from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is the author of The Defence Capabilities of Small States: Singapore and Taiwan’s Responses to Strategic Desperation (London: Palgrave, 2016). Wu’s articles, commentaries and op-eds have been published in Asian Survey, Contemporary Southeast Asia, the Pacific Review, Defence Studies, Naval War College Review, and Asia Policy, among others.

Research interests: cross-strait relations, military security in Southeast Asia, railways of international relations

Sungmin CHO

Dr. Sungmin Cho is a professor of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), an academic institute of the US Department of Defense. His area of expertise covers US-China competition, Chinese politics and the geopolitics of Northeast Asia. Dr. Cho has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, including World Politics, Journal of Contemporary China, The China Journal, Asian Security, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, and Korea Observer. His policy analysis also appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, and War on the Rocks. Dr.Cho contributed commentaries at the invitations of CSIS, Brookings and other think tanks. Prior to the academic career, Dr. Cho served in the Korean Army as an intelligence officer for three years, including seven-month deployment to Iraq. He earned B.A. in Political Science from Korea University, M.A. in International Relations from Peking University, and Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University.

Takuya MATSUDA, Ph.D.

Project Researcher
Takuya Matsuda is a Project Researcher at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo working on international security affairs. His research focuses primarily on alliance politics, great power relations, international relations theory, and U.S. grand strategy. Takuya was formerly a visiting scholar at the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University and a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow at the Notre Dame International Security Center. His work on international security affairs has been published both in scholarly and policy outlets such as the Australian Journal of International Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, War on the Rocks, Foreign Policy, and the Diplomat. Takuya holds a Ph.D. from the War Studies Department at King’s College London, a M.A. from Johns Hopkin University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and B.A, from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. 

Twitter: @takuyamatsuda1

Tomonori YOSHIZAKI

He was Vice President for Academic Affairs of Japan MoD’s National Institute for Defence Studies (NIDS). At NIDS, He was Director of Policy Simulation (2015-22), and Director of Security Studies Department (2011-2015) at NIDS.  He has been regularly attending NATO Defence College Conference of Commandants (COC), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Meeting of Head of National Defense Universities/Colleges/Institutions. He is currently a visiting professor/lecture at Self-Defence Forces Staff Colleges, Tokyo University for Foreign Studies, and National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). Previously, he was an assistant director of Office of Strategic Studies of MoD, a visiting scholar at Kings College London, and Hudson Institute; His areas of expertise include alliance management, European security and NATO, Japan’s security policy and peace operations.

Tonny Dian EFFENDI

Tonny Dian Effendi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia.

He was a visiting research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Japan, the Institute of International Relations (IIR)-National Cheng Chi University, Taiwan, as well as a visiting scholar at the Department of International Relations and Public Administration,
Universidade do Minho, Portugal. He experienced in conducting research under the Sumitomo Foundation’s Japan-related research program, the Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange (SEASREP) Program’s research
program, the Australian National University (ANU) Indonesia Project, the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) research-publication program, and the
international collaborative research under the Ministry of Higher Education, Republic of Indonesia. He obtained his Bachelor of Social Science in International Relations from Universitas Jember in Indonesia, while his master’s degree was obtained from Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (Master of Science in Sociology) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (Master of Social Science- by research in International Relations). Currently, he is a PhD candidate from the Institute of Political Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan.

Research interests: International Relations; diplomacy; constructivism; East Asia regional studies; China; Indonesia; diaspora

Tsuyoshi GOROKU

Associate Professor, Faculty of International Politics and Economics, Department of International Politics and Economics, Nishogakusha University
Specialised in the history of US-European relations and European security.

Assistant Professor at Keio University Graduate School of Law (research fellowship), researcher at EU Studies Institute in Tokyo (EUSI) (stay in Ukraine), part-time lecturer at the Maritime Self-Defence Force Staff College, before becoming a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of International Politics and Economics, Nishimatsu Gakusha University (2017-2022), current position from April 2022. . He is also a visiting researcher at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) (2017-) and a research member of the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) (2017-). 

Wakako ITO, Ph.D.

Senior Program Coordinator

Yoshihiro INABA

Yoshihiro Inaba is a doctoral student at Senshu University Graduate School, studying Japanese defense legislation and international law related to the use of force (jus ad bellum). He is also a freelance military writer, covering the JSDF, US Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and other national militaries, as well as defense-related companies in Japan and abroad. He has contributed articles to Japanese military magazines and is the first Japanese contributor to Naval News, a France-based web media specializing in naval affairs.

Research interests: international law (jus ad bellum), Japanese security legislation, naval topics

Zack COOPER

Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Zack Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies US strategy in Asia, including alliance dynamics and US-China competition. He also teaches at Princeton University and is currently writing a book that explains how militaries change during power shifts.

Before joining AEI, Dr. Cooper was the senior fellow for Asian security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He previously worked as codirector of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He also served as assistant to the deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism at the National Security Council and as a special assistant to the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense.

Dr. Cooper has been published in academic journals, including International Security and Security Studies, and in the popular press, such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, among other outlets. He has also authored a variety of studies on Asia, on topics including US military strategy and posture in Asia, Chinese coercion, and US defense cooperation with regional allies and partners. He is the coeditor of two books,
Postwar Japan: Growth, Security, and Uncertainty Since 1945 (CSIS/Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and Strategic Japan: New Approaches to Foreign Policy and the U.S.-Japan Alliance (CSIS/Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

Dr. Cooper graduated from Princeton University with a PhD and an MA in security studies and an MPA in international relations. He received a BA in public policy from Stanford University.

Research interests: Asia, alliances, defense strategy, military technology, U.S. foreign policy, U.S.-China competition

【Adjunct Member】Michito TSURUOKA

Education: Keio University Faculty of Law, Georgetown University's graduate school and Georgetown University's graduate school, PhD in War Studies, King's College London
Areas of Expertise: International security, European politics, NATO; European integration, European politics, international security, NATO, the EU, nuclear policy, extended deterrence, and defence diplomacy. 
Career: Specialist researcher at the Japanese Embassy in Belgium at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in charge of NATO, researcher at the GMF (German et al.), Instructor at the National Institute for Defense Studies at the Ministry of Defense from 2009 to 2017, multilateral security in the Asia-Pacific International Policy Division of the Defense Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Defense (Defense Department), in charge of, particularly ADMM Plus (Expanded ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, visiting researcher at RUSI (Royal Institute for Defense and Security Studies). Concurrently serves as a senior researcher at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research.

【Adjunct Menber】Atsuko HIGASHINO

Education: University of Birmingham Department of Political Science and International Studies, Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Birmingham
Career: Specialist researcher at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the OECD, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Full-time lecturer, Faculty of Politics and International Relations, University of Birmingham (fixed term) Lecturer, Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University, Associate Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University, (current) University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of International Public Policy
Interests: International Relations and Politics
Publications: Europe in decline due to the Ukraine War Foreword,  Current status and prospects of the war in Ukraine, Hiroshima and Peace and many more books and articles.

【Adjunct Menber】Yoshihiko OKABE

Education: Doctor of Philosophy in History Chubu University2021/09/30
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Kobe Gakuin University2015/03
Research Areas: Humanities & Social Sciences Economic history Ukrainian Studies
Humanities & Social Sciences Historical studies in general
Research Interests
General studies of Ukraine
Ukraine Political economy of Ukraine
Ukrainian diaspora in Manchuria Harbin