Victor Cha

President, Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair
Victor Cha

Victor Cha is president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a distinguished university professor and professor of government at Georgetown University. From 2021 to 2025, he was appointed by the Biden administration to serve on the Defense Policy Board in an advisory role to the secretary of defense. From 2004 to 2007, he served on the National Security Council (NSC), where he was responsible for Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations. Dr. Cha was the U.S. deputy head of delegation at the Six Party Talks and received two outstanding service commendations during his tenure at the NSC. He is the author of nine books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States–Korea–Japan Security Triangle (Stanford University Press, 1999), which won the 2000 Ohira Book Prize, and The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco, 2012), selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012.” His other books are Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies (Columbia University Press, 2003); Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2009); Powerplay: Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia (Princeton University Press, 2018); Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale University Press, 2023); The Black Box: Demystifying the Study of Korean Unification and North Korea (Columbia University Press, 2024); North Korea’s Sea-Based WMD Capability (Bloomsbury, 2025); and China’s Weaponization of Trade: Resistance through Collective Resilience (Columbia University Press, 2026). Dr. Cha is a two-time Fulbright scholar and a former Olin fellow at Harvard University, as well as a former Hoover, Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Koret fellow at Stanford University. He currently serves on the editorial boards of ten academic journals and is coeditor of the Contemporary Asia book series at Columbia University Press. He serves on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the Korea Society and is a senior fellow at the George W. Bush Institute. Dr. Cha received his PhD, MIA, and BA from Columbia University and a BA with honors from Oxford University.

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Photo: Benoit Tessier/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: Benoit Tessier/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

Who Are G7’s Top Performers?

The G7’s agenda has globalized even as the bloc’s share of the world economy and population has shrunk. As leaders convene at Évian-les-Bains, is the group still fit for purpose — and which countries actually perform on the issues it prioritizes?

Commentary by Victor Cha — June 12, 2026

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State of Play

Was the G7 Summit in France a Success?

Victor Cha, Kristi Govella, Phil Luck, and Caitlin Welsh join Will to assess how meaningful the outcomes of the G7 Summit were.

Podcast Episode by CSIS Scholars — June 17, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS

What Xi Got in Pyongyang | The Capital Cable #136

On June 8–9, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang and met Kim Jong-un. Timed to the 65th anniversary of the China–DPRK friendship treaty, the visit came as Beijing worked to reassert its standing with a partner that has spent two years deepening military and economic ties with Russia.

Event — June 16, 2026

The Impossible State

How Should the United States Counter the CRINK Axis?

Dr. Victor Cha, Igor Khrestin, Joseph Kim, and Dr. Maria Snegovaya join Will Todman to assess CRINK’s vulnerabilities and U.S. policy options on democracy, rights, and security.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Victor Cha, and Maria Snegovaya — June 12, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast
Audio Briefs

Who Are G7’s Top Performers?

An audio version of "⁠Who Are G7’s Top Performers?⁠," a new Commentary by CSIS’s Victor Cha. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha — June 12, 2026

Audio Briefs

Who Are G7’s Top Performers?

The G7’s agenda has globalized even as the bloc’s share of the world economy and population has shrunk. As leaders convene at Évian-les-Bains, is the group still fit for purpose — and which countries actually perform on the issues it prioritizes?

Commentary by Victor Cha — June 12, 2026