Washington D.C. — Jonathan D. Pollack, an expert on Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and East Asian security, has been named director of the John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings President Strobe Talbott announced today.
Pollack joined Brookings as a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program in December 2010, and has been serving as acting director of the John L.Thornton China Center since September 2012.
“I am gratified that Jonathan has agreed to serve as director of the Thornton China Center while continuing his important research on Chinese national security strategy and East Asian international relations,” said Talbott. “Brookings is privileged to host an exceptional team of Asia scholars, and Jonathan is strongly committed to diversifying and deepening the center’s research agenda both here and at the Brookings-Tsinghua Center in Beijing. To that end, the China Center will add a senior fellow in the coming months focusing on China’s economics.”
Pollack previously served as professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the Naval War College and chairman of the College’s Strategic Research Department. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Michigan. His latest book is No Exit: North Korea: Nuclear Weapons and International Security (International Institute for Strategic Studies-Routledge, 2011); a revised Korean-language version was released in 2012.
“We look forward to Jonathan’s continued leadership role, now as the Thornton Center’s director,” said Martin Indyk, vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. “Jonathan possesses considerable knowledge of China, Asia, and U.S. policy toward the region. We are confident he will expand the center’s research agenda and stable of experts in the months and years ahead.”
Talbott and Indyk also expressed their appreciation for Kenneth Lieberthal’s outstanding leadership of the John L. Thornton China Center and their best wishes as he returns to full-time scholarly work as a senior fellow in the center. Lieberthal will remain fully engaged in research, publications, and policy debate on China’s political future and its implications for the U.S.-China relationship.
The Brookings Institution launched the John L. Thornton China Center in 2006, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. and an office in Beijing based at Tsinghua University. The China Center provides cutting-edge research, analysis, dialogue and publications that focus on China’s emergence and the implications of this for the United States, China’s neighbors and the rest of the world.