Book Project

The Geographical Pivot of Grand Strategy: Rising Powers in the Far East, 1895-1905

  This project develops a theory explaining how great powers determine their geopolitical orientation and tests it against three historical cases: Japan's, Russia's, and the United States' foreign policies in the Far East during the critical decade demarcated by the Sino-Japanese (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese (1904-5) wars.

Working Papers

“Pivoting Grand Strategy: Explaining the Geographic Orientation of Rising Powers"

  This paper introduces a theory explaining how great powers determine their geopolitical orientation.

"China's Strategic Frontiers: A Geopolitical Assessment"

  This paper offers a systematic assessment of China’s strategic frontiers: the eastern, southern, western, and northern frontiers. It does so by examining the value of various regions beyond its borders from a geopolitical perspective focusing on “buffers,” “resource centers,” and “lines of communication.” Seen as such, China’s geopolitical imperatives are securing strategic depth around its politico-economic core and resources from the rest of Eurasia. While Beijing has been developing access denial capabilities to compensate for the lack of buffer along its eastern seaboard, it faces a significant challenge overcoming the putative “Malacca Dilemma.” Geographically, the southern (Myanmar) and western (Pakistan) frontiers offer the easiest alternatives for China to circumvent the Strait of Malacca. Given their political instability, however, there’s a potential for “mission creep” in these places. The paper closes with a brief remark on policy implications for the United States.

Manuscripts available upon request