Bilden Asian Security Studies

The Center for Security Studies is committed to understanding the role of the Asian subcontinent, and of China in particular, in the world's security environment. CSS supports faculty research and teaching, hosts policy discussions, and educates students on the numerous complex security challenges in this vital region. Thanks to the generosity of Georgetown University graduates Philip (F'86) and Patricia (C'85) Bilden, the Bilden Asian Security Studies Program is a hub for the graduate study of security in Asia at Georgetown.

Japan Foundation Partnership

Kevin O'Driscoll (SSP'09) was selected to participate in the Japan Travel Program for Future U.S. Leaders, organized by the Japan Foundation's Center for Global Partnership (CGP) in conjunction with the Association for Professional Schools in International Affairs (APSIA). Kevin spent ten days traveling around Japan, meeting with officials from the U.S. Embassy in Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, Yokosuka Naval Base, and the Research Institute for Peace and Security, a leading Japanese think tank. During these meetings, he had the opportunity to ask Japanese officials about a variety of security issues, including the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance, Japanese relations with South Korea, and the impact of the Democratic Party of Japan coming to power.

Faculty

Robert Sutter, Visiting Professor of Asian Studies at the School of Foreign Service, is currently at work on a single volume treatment of forces of convergence and forces of divergence in China's relations with the United States. He is also preparing a second edition of Chinese Foreign Relations: Power and Policy Since the Cold War (Rowman and Littlefield 2008) at the request of the publisher. Professor Sutter's most recent book is The United States in Asia (Rowman and Littlefield 2009). His most recently taught courses include "Security Issues in East Asia," "China-U.S. Relations: Background, Issues, and Outlook," "Taiwan in the 21st Century," "Chinese Politics and Domestic Priorities," "Chinese Foreign Policy," "Chinese Policy Priorities," and "The United States and the Major Powers in Asia."

Keir Lieber, Associate Professor in the Security Studies Program, is analyzing the role of nuclear weapons in the U.S.-China strategic relationship. His research suggests that a conventional conflict between the two countries would generate serious problems of nuclear escalation control; the danger of nuclear confrontation will remain until China develops a more robust nuclear deterrent capability. Professor Lieber's publications include "U.S. Nuclear Primacy and the Future of the Chinese Nuclear Deterrent" in China Security Quarterly and "Superiority Complex: Why America’s Growing Nuclear Supremacy May Make War with China More Likely" in The Atlantic (both co-written with Daryl G. Press).

Lonnie Henley, Adjunct Professor in the Security Studies Program, is a member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Level executive service at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), where he serves as the Agency's senior analyst for China. He has published numerous articles on topics including "Evolving Chinese Concepts of War Control and Escalation Management," "PLA Logistics and Doctrine Reform, 1999-2009," and "China’s Capacity for Achieving a Revolution in Military Affairs."  Professor Henley teaches "The Security of China," which examines the national security challenges facing the People’s Republic of China, evolving Chinese perceptions of those challenges, and the instruments the Communist regime wields to address them.

Events

"Strait Talk: US-Taiwan Relations and the Crisis with China" (audio)
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker
November 2, 2009

At the core of US-Taiwan-China relations, mistrust has long been, and remains today, the most difficult and elusive problem policy makers face. Mistrust underlies security, communication, and decision making, rendering enduring reconciliation impossible. 

To discuss these important challenges to US relations with China, CSS hosted Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Professor of History at the School of Foreign Service and author of Strait Talk: United States-Taiwan Relations and the Crisis with China (Harvard University Press, 2009) An American diplomatic historian, Professor Tucker specializes in American-East Asian relations, particularly United States relations with China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.  In addition to her position at Georgetown, she is also Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

"China: Facing the Challenges of the Next 30 Years" (audio and Power Point Presentation)
Christopher Clarke
October 28, 2009

China's virtually uninterrupted 30 years of growth and increasing influence are unprecedented in the modern world.  Dr. Christopher Clarke reviewed the hidden problems and contradictions of these successes and discussed the resulting major domestic and foreign policy challenges China will face over the next 20-30 years. He posited that the world may have more to fear from Chinese failure than from Chinese success.

Dr. Clark brought a unique perspective to the discussion, as he recently retired as chief of the China division of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where for many years he was the State Department's leading intelligence analyst on China.