Thomas J. Christensen

Thomas J. Christensen is the Pritzker Chair in the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also James T. Shotwell professor of International Relations and director of the China and the World Program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He was previously the William P. Boswell Professor of World Politics at Princeton University. From 2006 to 2008, Dr. Christensen served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for relations with China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. His research and teaching focus on China’s foreign relations, the international relations of East Asia, and international security. His most recent book is Lost in the Cold War: The Story of Jack Downey, America’s Longest-Held POW (Columbia University Press, 2022). His earlier book, The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power (W. W. Norton), was an editors’ choice at the New York Times Book Review and at Amazon.com, a “Book of the Week” on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, and the Arthur Ross Book Award Silver Medalist for 2016 at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also taught at Cornell University and MIT. He received his BA from Haverford College, MA from the University of Pennsylvania, and PhD from Columbia University. He was presented with a Distinguished Public Service Award by the U.S. Department of State.