I am an Assistant Professor of Politics at Bates College and formerly a Research Fellow with the International Security Program at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. My research interests include international security issues in East Asia, international security alliances, nuclear nonproliferation, and international political economy.
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I am currently working on three exciting research projects on extended nuclear deterrence, asymmetric international security alliances, and nuclear nonproliferation.
I earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). My PhD dissertation, “Exploitative Friendships: Manipulating Asymmetric Alliances,” explains the origin of different strategies junior allies employ to “manipulate” their materially superior alliance partner into offering assistance they seek. It contributes to the literature by proposing a new paradigm for understanding alliance behavior in the context of asymmetric alliances and for assessing costs associated with security commitments to weaker states.
Prior to my arrival at the Belfer Center, I was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow with the RAND Corporation and a Smith Richardson Foundation fellow at Yale University's International Security Studies Program.
Prior to MIT, I had a 11-year experience of serving as a fast-track career diplomat at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs primarily responsible for US-Japan cooperation to address various security challenges in Asia and beyond. I received B.A. from Keio University and master’s degrees from Sciences-Po Paris and Harvard University.
I am fluent in English, French, and Japanese and can read and converse in Chinese.
My current research is supported by a U.S. Grand Strategy and U.S. Foreign Policy Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Charles Koch Foundation. Previously, my research has been supported by various organizations including MIT’s Center for International Studies and Political Science Department, the Stanton Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, Yale University’s International Security Studies Program, the Murata Science Foundation, and the Ito Foundation for International Education Exchange.
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To download my C.V., please click here. To see my profile on the Bates College's website, please click here.