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 Analysis

China Relocates PMZ Structure to Weihai Shipyard

The Atlantic Amsterdam, a Chinese platform that was a point of tension between South Korea and China due to its unilateral placement by Beijing in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ), arrived at a commercial shipyard in China last week.

Commentary by Jennifer Jun and Victor Cha — February 2, 2026

Victor Cha's Podcasts

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Photo: iLab/CSIS

How should we combat China's economic coercion?

Will and guests discuss how China's economic strategy is evolving, how it compares with President Trump's own form of economic coercion, and what states and firms can do to push back.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman and Victor Cha — January 23, 2026

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China Relocates PMZ Structure to Weihai Shipyard

The Atlantic Amsterdam, a Chinese platform that was a point of tension between South Korea and China due to its unilateral placement by Beijing in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ), arrived at a commercial shipyard in China last week.

Commentary by Jennifer Jun and Victor Cha — February 2, 2026

China Begins Relocating Structure from PMZ

CSIS imagery analysis and AIS data collection finds that China has begun relocating the Atlantic Amsterdam from inside the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) on January 27. 

Commentary by Jennifer Jun and Victor Cha — January 28, 2026

State of Play

How should we combat China's economic coercion?

Will and guests discuss how China's economic strategy is evolving, how it compares with President Trump's own form of economic coercion, and what states and firms can do to push back.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman and Victor Cha — January 23, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS
State of Play

What are CSIS experts' boldest geopolitical predictions in 2026?

12 CSIS experts join Will to share significant developments in different parts of the world in 2025, and predictions for 2026.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Ryan C. Berg, Max Bergmann, Victor Cha, Thomas J. Christensen, Charles Edel, Kristi Govella, Henrietta Levin, Bonny Lin, Oge Onubogu, Gregory B. Poling, Richard M. Rossow, and Mona Yacoubian — January 15, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Indo-Pacific Forecast 2026

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy (GFP) Department's annual preview of political, economic, and security developments across the region.

Event — January 14, 2026

SCOTUS Ruling and Korea

The Supreme Court’s ruling on the consolidated cases of V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump and Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump is expected tomorrow. Here are some key numbers to keep in mind with this impending decision.

Newsletter by Victor Cha — January 8, 2026