Chong Ja Ian is a non-resident scholar at Carnegie China, where he examines US-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. Chong is also an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
His research covers the intersection of international and domestic politics, with a focus on the externalities of major power competition, nationalism, regional order, security, contentious politics, and state formation. He also works on US-China relations, security and order in Northeast and Southeast Asia, cross-strait relations, and Taiwan’s politics. Chong’s current research examines how non-leading state behavior collectively intensifies major power rivalries, paying particular attention to the US-China relationship.
Chong has concurrent projects investigating how states react to sanctions on third parties by trade partners, and the characteristics of foreign influence operations. He has a longstanding interest in bridging academic, policy, and public discussions regarding these topics. Chong is an editor of AcademiaSG, which seeks to promote Singapore-related research.
