Thomas J. Christensen is an American political scientist. He is the
James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations at the
.
Education
Christensen received his B.A. with honors from
Haverford College
Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...
, an M.A. in International Relations from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, and Ph.D. in political science from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.
Among his advisers at Columbia was
Robert Jervis. His research interests include international relations, security, and the international relations of East Asia.
He coined the terms
Chain ganging
Chain ganging is a term in the field of international relations describing the elevated probability for interstate conflict or conflagration due to several states having joined in alliances or coalitions.
The agreed principles of such alliances t ...
and
Buck passing
Buck passing, or passing the buck, or sometimes (playing) the blame game, is the act of attributing to another person or group one's own responsibility. It is often used to refer to a strategy in power politics whereby a state tries to get anothe ...
in international relations with
Jack Snyder.
Career
From 2006 to 2008, he also served as Deputy
.
Christensen taught at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, 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 University before joining the Columbia faculty in fall of 2018. He also sits on the faculty of the
Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia.
He has been described as a China expert by numerous Chinese and American publications.
Gideon Rose called his views on the international system as neorealist.
Christensen served as a founding member of the Academic Advisory Council of the
Schwarzman Scholars program. He was also a silver medalist of the 2016
Arthur Ross Book Award from the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
.
In 2020, Christensen, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement asserting that President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
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."
He is a participant of the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy convened by the
Asia Society
The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...
's Center on US-China Relations.
Publications
Articles
* Taiwan and the True Sources of Deterrence, ''
Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
'', November 30, 2023 (co-authored with
Bonnie S. Glaser and
Jessica Chen Weiss)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Thomas J.
Living people
Haverford College alumni
University of Pennsylvania alumni
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Cornell University faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
Princeton University faculty
Columbia University faculty
American political scientists
American academic administrators
Year of birth missing (living people)
Weatherhead East Asian Institute faculty
Columbia School of International and Public Affairs faculty