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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Victor Cha's Podcasts

Is China Eating Our Lunch?

Dr. Victor Cha, Dr. Ely Ratner, and Mr. Scott Snyder discuss China’s recent diplomatic events, the Xi-Putin-Kim meeting, Kim Ju Ae’s debut, and their implications for the Korean Peninsula and U.S. allies.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha — September 15, 2025

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The Impossible State

Is China Eating Our Lunch?

Dr. Victor Cha, Dr. Ely Ratner, and Mr. Scott Snyder discuss China’s recent diplomatic events, the Xi-Putin-Kim meeting, Kim Ju Ae’s debut, and their implications for the Korean Peninsula and U.S. allies.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha — September 15, 2025

The Impossible State Podcast
The Eurofile

Are allies or autocrats managing Trump better?

In a special crossover episode with CSIS’s State of Play, Max Bergmann joins Will Todman and Victor Cha to discuss what East Asian and European allies are learning about summits with President Trump and what patterns are emerging about how President Trump engages with autocrats.

Podcast Episode by Max Bergmann, Will Todman, and Victor Cha — September 2, 2025

CSIS
The Impossible State

Are allies or autocrats managing Trump better?

After a busy month of U.S. diplomacy, Victor Cha and Max Bergmann join Will to discuss what East Asian and European allies are learning about summits with President Trump and what patterns are emerging about how President Trump engages with autocrats.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Victor Cha, and Max Bergmann — August 29, 2025

The Impossible State Podcast
State of Play

Are allies or autocrats managing Trump better?

Will, Victor Cha & Max Bergmann explore what allies learn from Trump at summits and his patterns with autocrats.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Victor Cha, and Max Bergmann — August 28, 2025

Photo: iLab/CSIS