Thomas J. Christensen is an American political scientist. He is the James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.[1]

Thomas J. Christensen
Christensen in 2015
Academic background
Education
Influences
Academic work
DisciplinePolitical science
Institutions
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese柯慶生
Simplified Chinese柯庆生

Education edit

Christensen received his B.A. with honors from Haverford College, M.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University.[1] Among his advisers at Columbia was Robert Jervis.[2] His research interests include international relations, security, and the international relations of East Asia.[1] He coined the terms Chain ganging and Buck passing in international relations with Jack Snyder.[3]

Career edit

From 2006 to 2008, he also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.[4][5]

Christensen taught at Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, where he co-founded the China in the World program with Harvard professor Alastair Ian Johnston in 2004. He was the William P. Boswell Professor of World Politics of Peace and War at Princeton before joining the Columbia faculty in fall 2018.[6] He also sits on the faculty of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia.[7]

He has been described as a China expert by numerous Chinese and American publications.[8][9][10][11] Gideon Rose called his views on the international system as neorealist.[12]

Christensen served as a founding member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Schwarzman Scholars program.[13] He was also a silver medalist of the 2016 Arthur Ross Book Award from the Council on Foreign Relations.[14]

In 2020, Christensen, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement asserting that President Donald Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[15]

He is a participant of the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy convened by the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations.[16]

Publications edit

Articles edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Thomas Christensen | Columbia SIPA". www.sipa.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  2. ^ Christensen, Thomas J.; Yarhi-Milo, Keren (2022-01-07). "The Human Factor". ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  3. ^ Christensen, Thomas J.; Snyder, Jack (1990). "Chain Gangs and Passed Bucks: Predicting Alliance Patterns in Multipolarity". International Organization. 44 (2): 137–168. doi:10.1017/S0020818300035232. ISSN 0020-8183. JSTOR 2706792. S2CID 18700052.
  4. ^ "Christensen selected as deputy assistant secretary of state". Princeton University. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  5. ^ "Thomas J. Christensen, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary, speaks about U.S.-China Relations, 2007 | US-China Institute". china.usc.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  6. ^ "Thomas J. Christensen, Expert in Chinese Foreign Relations, Will Join Faculty | Columbia SIPA". www.sipa.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  7. ^ "Thomas J. Christensen | Weatherhead East Asian Institute". weai.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  8. ^ "谁是未来的李侃如、柯庆生:探微美国研究中国外交的新一代_外交学人_澎湃新闻-The Paper". www.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  9. ^ "陈定定:美国十大"中国通"——有人坚守学术,有人开始"反华"_研究". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  10. ^ Mirsky, Jonathan (2015-07-22). "'The China Challenge,' by Thomas J. Christensen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  11. ^ Sanger, David E. (2021-03-26). "Biden Defines His Underlying Challenge With China: 'Prove Democracy Works'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  12. ^ Rose, Gideon (1998). Brown, Michael E.; Christensen, Thomas J.; Schweller, Randall L.; Wohlforth, William Curti; Zakaria, Fareed (eds.). "Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy". World Politics. 51 (1): 144–172. doi:10.1017/S0043887100007814. ISSN 0043-8871. JSTOR 25054068. S2CID 154361851.
  13. ^ "American Financier Stephen A. Schwarzman Endows International Scholarship Program in China". Schwarzman Scholars. 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  14. ^ "Past Winners of the Arthur Ross Book Award". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  15. ^ "Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden". Defending Democracy Together. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  16. ^ "The Task Force on U.S.-China Policy". Asia Society. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  17. ^ Glaser, Bonnie S.; Weiss, Jessica Chen; Christensen, Thomas J. (2023-11-30). "Taiwan and the True Sources of Deterrence". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2023-12-01.