Charles Dunst

Adjunct Fellow (Non-resident), Southeast Asia Program
Charles Dunst

Charles Dunst is an associate with The Asia Group's research & analytics practice, analyzing political and economic developments across the Indo-Pacific. He is also a contributing editor of American Purpose, Francis Fukuyama's new magazine. Mr. Dunst regularly publishes in the media and has written opinion articles for outlets like the New York Times, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2018 and 2019, he was a foreign correspondent in Cambodia, reporting for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and the Los Angeles Times on topics including U.S. deportations to Cambodia and Vietnam, China's growing influence in the region, and Myanmar's foreign policy. Mr. Dunst holds an MSc with distinction in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA with honors in world politics from Hamilton College.

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What's Next for Cambodia's Princeling?

U.S. and allied officials would be wise to begin considering how a Cambodian leadership transition would play out, as well as what Cambodia with Hun Manet, and eventually without Hun Sen, will look like.

Commentary by Charles Dunst — January 13, 2023

Spotlight - Cambodia: October 11, 2022

Western policymakers should thus not assume that a Hun Manet-led Cambodia will be much friendlier to them than Hun Sen’s Cambodia has been

Blog Post by Charles Dunst — October 11, 2022

Photo: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images

Hun Sen, Marcos, and the Anatomy of an American Smile

There’s an old adage among U.S. diplomats about how to handle a necessary meeting with a strongman: “Shake their hand, but don’t smile, especially if there are cameras.” U.S. leaders have taken this lesson to heart in Southeast Asia.

Commentary by Charles Dunst — August 18, 2022

Photo: ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

Spotlight - Laos: June 30, 2022

Laos’s relative moment in the sun has given way to cloudier skies, as economic peril begins to reverberate across the country.

Blog Post by Charles Dunst — June 30, 2022

Photo: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images
Southeast Asia Radio

Turning around U.S.-Cambodia Relations with Sophal Ear and Charles Dunst

Greg and Elina talk with Dr. Sophal Ear, associate professor in the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, and Charles Dunst, associate at The Asia Group and adjunct fellow with the CSIS Southeast Asia Program.

Podcast Episode by Gregory B. Poling and Charles Dunst — June 23, 2022

CSIS Southeast Asia Radio

Pariah or Partner? Clarifying the U.S. Approach to Cambodia

Current U.S. policy toward Cambodia—comprising sanctions and sparse engagement—is contradictory and unsustainable. Cambodia sits in a neighborhood too important to ignore. Washington should therefore apply a consistent, constructive, and future-focused Cambodia strategy.

Report by Gregory B. Poling , Charles Dunst , and Simon Tran Hudes — June 14, 2022

Photo: AHN YOUNG-JOON/AFP/Getty Images

Spotlight - Cambodia: May 9, 2022

The Cambodian People's Party's heavy-handed response to the Candlelight Party has betrayed the ruling party’s evident concern about people’s waning patience with Hun Sen and the status quo.

Blog Post by Charles Dunst — May 9, 2022

Photo: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images