Jonathan Pollack, Leading Expert on Chinese and East Asian Politics and Security, Joins Brookings

Jonathan Pollack, an expert on China’s foreign and defense policies and East Asia security issues, is joining the Brookings Institution as a senior fellow on December 6, Brookings President Strobe Talbott announced today.

Pollack will join the Foreign Policy program and will be affiliated with the John L. Thornton China Center.

“Jonathan brings exceptional expertise on Chinese and East Asian politics and security to the first class research team at Brookings’s Thornton China Center,” said Martin Indyk, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings. “At a time when regional tension is on the rise in Asia, we look forward to his timely and critical analyses of China’s national security policies, its relations with its Asian neighbors, and the policy implications for the United States.”

Prior to his appointment at Brookings, Pollack served as professor of Asian and Pacific studies and chairman of the Asia-Pacific Studies Group at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Pollack’s research at the college primarily focused on Chinese national security strategy, U.S.-China relations, and U.S. strategy in Asia and the Pacific.

“I am delighted to have Jonathan join the center. His research and writing will add considerable breadth and depth,” said Kenneth Lieberthal, senior fellow and director of the John L. Thornton China Center. “I am certain that his knowledge and insights will expand the center’s capacity to provide comprehensive, cutting-edge analysis of China and its growing influence in Asia and beyond.”

Prior to joining the War College faculty in 2000, Pollack worked at the Rand Corporation, where he served in a number of senior research and management positions. During his tenure at Rand, he served as chairman of the political science department, corporate research manager for international policy, and senior advisor for international policy. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan, and was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard University. Pollack currently serves on a congressionally mandated review panel which is tasked with examining future U.S. missile defense policy options.

Pollack has authored or edited over two dozen books and research reports. His latest book, No Exit: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, and International Security, will be published in early 2011 by Routledge Press for the International Institute for Strategic Studies.