1. CURRENT POSITION
2. RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS
3. EDUCATION
4. PUBLICATIONS
5. OTHER WRITING
6. GRANTS, FELLOWSHIP, HONORS
7. TEACHING EXPERIENCE
8. SELECTED CONFERENCES
9. OTHER PROFESSIONAL SKILLS & TRAINING
10. LANGUAGE SKILLS

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CURRENT POSITION

• Professor, Department Political Science and Diplomacy, Pusan National University

• Address: Busan, 46241, South Korea

• Email: robertkelly260@hotmail.com; rekelly@pnu.edu

• Twitter: @Robert_E_Kelly

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RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS

• International Relations Theory in East Asia

• U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia

• Korean Foreign Policy

• International Financial Institutions (especially the World Bank and IMF)

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EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Department of Political Science, Ohio State University, March 2005
  • Masters degree, 2002
  • Major: International Relations
  • Second Major: Political Theory

• B.A.: Miami University of Ohio, May 1994 (Phi Beta Kappa)
  • Major: Political Science
  • Major: History
  • Minor: German

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PUBLICATIONS

• “Emerging Competition with China: Persistent and Probably Unavoidable,” in Byun-Se Yun and Duck-Koo Chung, eds. Competing for Order in a Fragmenting World: 2023 NEAR Global Survey Report on the World Order, Seoul: North East Asia Research Foundation, 2023: chapter 2, 56-73

• “Why North Korea May Use Nuclear Weapons First,” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, November 21, 2023

• “South Korea’s Nuclear Anxieties Haven’t Gone Away,” Foreign Policy, June 9, 2023

• “East Asia’s Nuclear Debates are Their Own,” Foreign Policy, Fall 2022: 14-17

• “A Defense of North Korea Sanctions,” Korea Observer, 53/2, 2022: 247-76

• “Bargaining and BATNAs: Why Did Moon Jae-In’s Unprecedented Detente Effort Nonetheless Fail to Change the Inter-Korean Stalemate?,” Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, 34/2, 2022: 183-205

• “The Allies are Alright: Why the US can Get Away with Bullying its Friends,” with Paul Poast, Foreign Affairs, 101/2, 2022: 131-143

• “The ROK Carrier Debate: Domestic Interservice Competition and the North Korean Factor,” Korean Institute for Maritime Strategy, KIMS Periscope #255, November 22, 2021

• “North Korea’s Missed Opportunity: The Unique, Dovish Moment of the Overlapping Trump and Moon Presidencies,” with Arius Derr, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, 33/1, 2021: 23-42

• “The Persistent Status Quo with North Korea: Why Has So Little Changed since 2017?,” Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, 31/3, 2019: 399-418

• “North Korea is Ultimately China’s Problem,” with Isaac Fish, Foreign Affairs, June 8, 2018

• “Trump’s North Korean Nuclear Theatrics,” New York Review of Books, June 5, 2018

• “History Wars in 2018? (Japan-Korea),” Debate with Jennifer Lind, Asan Institute, February 19-April 19, 2018

• “Terrorism’s Place in South Korean Grand Strategy,” Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, 29/3, 2017: 409-428

• “An Agenda for South Korea’s New Leader,” The New York Times, May 9, 2017

• “Using Analytical Eclecticism for Improved Policy Relevance: Is There a Case for South Korean Support of Abenomics?,” Pacific Focus, 31/1, 2016: 99-124  

• “North Korea should Dominate South Korean Foreign Policy,” The Lowy Interpreter, four-part debate with Van Jackson on ROK Grand Strategy, July 29, 2015

• “China’s Interests in Korean Unification: How Much Longer is the ‘Buffer’ Worth It?” Korean Journal of Security Affairs 19/2, 2014: 4-21

• “Korea’s Dokdo Claim is about more than just Territory – It’s Identity,” China Policy Institute Blog, East Asian Territorial Disputes Symposium, October 13, 2014

• “The ‘Pivot’ and Its Problems: American Foreign Policy in Northeast Asia,” Pacific Review, 27/3, 2014: 479-503

• “Unintended Consequences of US Alliances in Asia,” CSIS, PacNet #32A, April 23, 2014

• “Comparing China and the Kaiser’s Germany,” The Lowy Interpreter, March 12-13, 2014

• “Do US Alliances Create Moral Hazard in Asian Conflicts?,” Newsweek Japan & Newsweek Korea (joint edition), May 2013

• “North Korea is the Boy Who Cried Wolf: There will be No War,” The Diplomat, April 10, 2013; AND Response to my Critics: North Korea is Another ‘Upper Volta with Nukes,’ so Ignore Them,” China Policy Institute Blog, April 21, 2013

•  “Park’s Recreation,” Foreign Affairs, December 18, 2012

• “A ‘Confucian Long Peace’ in Pre-Western East Asia?” European Journal of International Relations 18/3, 2012: 407-30

• “Kim Jong Un’s Balancing Act,” Korean National Defense University, Research Institute for National Security Affairs Forum, 22, September 2012: 1-4

• “Defining IR: Is it Asia’s Turn?” International Relations and Security Network, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, July 30, 2012

• “Korea-EU Relations – Beyond the FTA,” International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 12/1, 2012: 101-32

• “Kim Jong Un’s Ascent is a Unique Negotiating Opportunity,” Korean National Defense University, Research Institute for National Security Affairs Forum, 20, March 2012: 1-5

• “The German-Korean Unification Parallel,” Korean Journal of Defense Analysis 23/4, 2011: 457-72

• “Assessing the Impact of Nongovernmental Organizations on International Organizations: The World Bank and IMF,” International Political Science Review 32/3, 2011: 323-44

• “The Impact of Arab Spring on North Korea,” Korean National Defense University, Research Institute for National Security Affairs Forum, 17, June 2011: 5-8

• “American Dual Containment in Asia,” Geopolitics, 15/4, 2010: 705-725

• “North Korea’s Shelling of Yeonpyeong Island: Interpretation and Response,” Korean National Defense University, Research Institute for National Security Affairs Forum, 15, November  2010: 1-5

• “Portrait of Global Civil Society at the Bretton Woods Institutions: Civil Society Dialogue Participation, 2000-2007,” Korean Journal of International Relations, 48/5, 2008: 51-80

• “Persistent Dependentist and Developmentalist Understandings of the State in Development Theory,” Development in Practice, 18/3, 2008: 319-332

• “From Global War on Terror to Containment,” Perspectives on Terrorism, 2/4, 2008: 12-14

• “Is Terrorism Always Wrong?” Perspectives on Terrorism, 1/1, 2007: 1-7

•  “Security Theory in the ‘New Regionalism,’” International Studies Review, 9/2, 2007: 197-229

• “One Last Chance in Iraq,” OSU Journal of Politics and International Affairs, 1/1, 2007: 135-146

• “From IR to Global Governance Theory: Conceptualizations of NGOs since Rio 1992,” Journal of Civil Society, 3/1, 2007: 81-99

•  “A Micro-View of Global Governance: The Spring and Annual Meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions,” Transnational Associations 2003/4: 203-06

• “Thucydides and Hegemony: Athens and the United States,” with Richard Ned Lebow, Review of International Studies 27/4 2001: 593-609

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OTHER WRITING

• Book Reviews
  • The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong-Un, Anna Fifield, Australian Foreign Affairs, 6, July 2019: 111-14.
  • The End of the American World Order, by Amitav Acharya, H-Net, October 2014
  • North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economics and Society, eds. Kyung-Ae Park and Scott Snyder, Pacific Affairs, 86/4, 2013: 932-34
  • The European Union and South Korea: The Legal Framework for Strengthening Trade, Economic and Political Relations, ed. James Harrison, H-Net, August 2013
  • American Culture of War: A History of US Military Force from World War II to Operation Enduring Freedom, by Adrian Lewis, Cercles, December 15, 2012
  • Creating Credibility: Legitimacy and Accountability for Transnational Civil Society, by David Brown, Development in Practice, 19/8, 2009: 1079-1080
  • Globalization and Its Counter-Forces in Southeast Asia, ed. Terence Chong, Development in Practice, 19/3, 2009: 431-432
  • International Water Security: Domestic Threats and Opportunities, eds. Nevelina Pachova, Mikiyasu Nakayama & Libor Jansky, Development in Practice, 19/2, 2009: 267-269
  • International Governance of War-Torn Territories: Rule and Reconstruction, by Robert Caplan, Journal of Conflict Studies, 28, 2008

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• World Bank/International Monetary Fund Writing:
  • “Portrait of Global Civil Society at the Bretton Woods Institutions, 2000-09,” International Monetary Fund, 2009
  • “The Impact of NGOs on the Bretton Woods Institutions,” World Bank, 2006

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• Blogging & Popular Writing – Author Pages:
  • Duck of Minerva
  • Channel News Asia
  • The Japan Times
  • The National Interest
  • The Diplomat
  • The Lowy Interpreter
  • East Asian Forum
  • 1945.com
  • Newsweek Japan & Newsweek Korea
  • Dong-A Daily
  • JoongAng Daily (International Herald Tribune partner in South Korea)

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GRANTS, FELLOWSHIP, HONORS

• Strategic Force Analysis Boot Camp, Dartmouth College & Sandia National Labs, August 2023

• European Center for North Korean Studies, Non-Resident Fellow, since February 2023

• Institute for Corean-American Studies, Fellow, since June 2022

• Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, June-August 2017

• Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies’ Teachers’ Workshop, Johns Hopkins University, June 5-9, 2017

• US-Korea NextGen Scholars Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies & the University of Southern California, 2015-2016

• Summer Workshop on the Analysis of Military Operations and Strategy, Columbia University, July 6-20, 2014

• Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, Syracuse University, June 17-30, 2012

• Summer Workshop on Teaching about Terrorism, Oklahoma University, July 10-18, 2007

• Academic Fellowship on Terrorism, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies & Tel Aviv University, Israel, May 26-June 6, 2007

• Two Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowships (Russian), US Department of Education, 1999, 2000

• University Fellow, Ohio State University, 1997-1998

• Bundestag Internship Program, University of Bonn & German Parliament, Germany, 1994-1995

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TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• Courses Taught:
  • East Asian Security
  • Introduction to International Relations Theory
  • Globalization/International Political Economy
  • International Organization
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Security & Terrorism
  • US Politics
  • Contemporary Political Theory
  • Middle East politics

• Certified by Blackboard, October 2016

• Certified by Canvas, June 2017

• Pusan National University Recognition:
  • Selected for Faculty Excellence coverage in university magazine, August 2013
  • Excellence in Teaching Award, 2010

• Ohio State University Recognition:
  • Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching Nominee, Ohio State University, 2007
  • Outstanding Teacher of the Year Nominee, Ohio State University, 2006

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SELECTED CONFERENCES

Invited Presenter – Discussant – Participant:

• “North Korean Nuclear First Use and Alliance Response,” Mershon Center, Ohio State University, January 22, 2024
• 2023 Forum on the US-ROK-Japan Nuclear Strategy, Sejong Institute, Seongnam, November 29-30, 2023
• Global Order Colloquium: A New Age of Nuclearity? Great Powers and Greater Consequences, University of Pennsylvania, September 25-27, 2023
• Surface Warships and Offshore Patrol Vessels Asia 2023, Defence IQ & Hyundai Heavy Industries, April 18-20, 2023
• 2023 International Seapower Symposium, South Korean Navy, Busan, June 8, 2023
• Forum for Korea-U.S. Nuclear Strategy, Sejong Institute, Seongnam, December 16-17, 2022
• China’s Foreign Strategy after the 20th CCP National Congress, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, November 28-30, 2022
• Asian Leadership Conference, Speaker on South Korean nuclearization, July 13-14, 2022
• Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, Speaker on South Korean diplomacy, June 26-28, 2018
• Shangri-La Dialogue, Delegate, IISS, Singapore, June 1-3, 2018
• Sydney Writers’ Festival, Speaker on northeast Asia, May 1-6, 2018
• Eighth Army Conference on North Korea, USAG-Humphreys, South Korea, March 16, 2018
• UBS Greater China Conference, Speaker on North Korea, Shanghai, January 7-11, 2018
• The New Yorker Festival, Speaker on North Korea, October 6-8, 2017
• “Korea and the World,” Speech at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seoul, May 12, 2017
• “Political Crisis in South Korea and Northeast Asia,” Speech at Ateneo University of Manila, Philippines, May 5, 2017
• “China’s Interests in Korean Unification,” Korean National Defense University annual conference, Seoul, September 12, 2014
• “US Retrenchment from Korea?,” United States Forces Korea, Seoul, September 11, 2014
• Economist’s annual ‘Bellwether’ conference on the South Korean economy, Seoul, September/October 2010 – 2015; Speaker in 2013-15
• “Unification – the Korea Project,” CSIS-University of Southern California, Seoul, January 22, 2013
• “Defining the US Pivot to Asia,” MBC East Asia Institute, Busan, S Korea, October 26, 2012
• “Denuclearization and Peace Community on the Korean Peninsula,” Korean Ministry of National Defense & Korean Institute of Defense Analysis, Seoul, October 27, 2011
• “Was There an Historical East Asian International System?” Korean Studies Institute–University of Southern California, Los Angeles, March 2011
• “Current Status and Future Prospects of the Issues on the Korean Peninsula Post-Cheonan,” Korean Ministry of National Defense & Korean Institute of Defense Analysis, Seoul, September 30, 2010
• “Asia 21,” Korean Government-IMF Conference, Daejeon, Korea, July 12-13, 2010
• “Resolving Security Threats to World Peace,” Korean Freedom Foundation, June 9, 2010
• “Latest Advances on International Security,” China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, May 30, 2010
• “EU-Korea Relations,” EU Delegation to Korea-Pusan National University EU Center, May 6-7, 2010
• “Prospects for the Situation of the Korean Peninsula and the North Korean Nuclear Issue in 2010,” Institute for National Security Studies, Seoul, December 7, 2009
• Research Presentation (Dissertation findings), International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC, August 10, 2009
• “East Asia and China in a Changing Global Order,” Institute of Chinese Studies, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea, May 14-15, 2009
• Dissertation Presentation, World Bank, Washington, DC, September 13, 2005
• Paper Presentation: “Liberal Imperial Management and the Future of U.S. Hegemony”, International Studies Association – Midwest, St. Louis, Missouri, November 7-8, 2003
• Paper Presentation: “Political Culture and Foreign Policy: Rethinking the Melian Dialogue,” with Richard Ned Lebow, American Political Science Association Annual Meeting Atlanta, Georgia, September 2-5, 1999

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OTHER PROFESSIONAL SKILLS & TRAINING

• Talks and Presentations (YouTube Playlist)

• Invited Article & Book Reviewer:
  • International Studies Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, Korea Observer, European Journal of International Relations, Security Studies, Review of International Studies, Journal of Common Market Studies, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Pacific Affairs, Rowman & Littlefield, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, European Political Science Review, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Routledge, Geopolitics, International Political Science Review, Sage, Korean Journal of Security Affairs, Études Internationales, Prentice Hall

• Consulting:
  • Contributor to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Asia
  • Member of SK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Professors ‘Dol Dahm’ Circle
  • Gerson Lehrman Group
  • Guidepoint Global
  • Securitas Korea
  • Coleman Research Group
  • Recipient of the Nelson Report

• TV Interviews, 2012 – present:
  • CNN
  • British Broadcasting Corporation
  • CNBC
  • ABC
  • MSNBC
  • Bloomberg
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  • International Television News
  • Sky News
  • Channel NewsAsia
  • Chinese Global Television
  • Al Jazeera English
  • Arirang TV (Korean English language TV)

• Radio commentary on BBC, NPR, ABC, VoA, and Korean English-language radio/TV, since 2010

• Visited North Korea, summer 2012; travelogue impressions

• Founding Participant, “Terrorism Research Initiative” & journal Perspectives on Terrorism, 2007-2008

• U.S. Army Educator Tour, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, April 18-22, 2006

• Field Representative, Martin R. Hoke, M.C. (Member of the US House of Representatives, 10^th district Ohio), 1996-97

• Internships:
  • Christian Schmidt, MdB (Member of the German Bundestag), Bonn 1995-96
  • Hanns Seidel Foundation, Munich, Germany, Spring 1993
  • Cowen & Company (brokerage firm), Cleveland, Ohio, Summer 1992
  • John Boehner, M.C. (House of Representatives, 8-OH), Wash., D.C. Summer 1991
  • State of Ohio, Washington Office, Washington, D.C., Summer 1991

• Institutional Affiliations:
  • International Studies Association
  • American Political Science Association
  • Korean Association of International Studies
  • Korean Political Science Association

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LANGUAGE SKILLS

• German: Excellent: Accredited by the German-American Chamber of Commerce, April 23, 1994

• French: Very Good: Transcript available from Laval University (Quebec, Canada), August 1997

• Russian: Average: Certificate in Advanced Russian from Moscow State Univ., August 31, 2000

• Korean: Average: intensive sabbatical year training, Pusan National University, 2015 – 2016

• Latin: Basic

• Classical Greek: Basic

• Language Study Abroad:
  • Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea, June 2015 – August 2016
  • Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, Summer 2000  
  • Nevsky Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, Summer 1999
  • Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada, Summer 1997
  • Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France, Summer 1995
  • Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany, Winter 1994
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität,Munich, Germany, 1992-1993
  • Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany, Summer 1992