John R. Sano is an Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where he teaches courses on national security, covert action, and intelligence. He previously served as Deputy Director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service (NCS), overseeing global covert operations and managing the Clandestine Service’s daily activities. With 28 years at the CIA, Sano held critical roles including Chief of the East Asia Division and directed operations in North Korea and the Balkans. He is a recipient of the CIA’s highest honors and the Republic of Korea’s Diplomatic Order of Merit. Education: Bachelor’s in Political Science, St. John’s University Master’s in Asian Studies, St. John’s University Master’s of International Affairs, Columbia University His research focuses on intelligence strategy, HUMINT, counterintelligence, and geopolitical dynamics in Northeast Asia. He currently serves on the Board of Garda Federal Services and the National Board of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), where he is Vice President.
Peter Beinart is a prominent political commentator and academic who teaches national reporting and opinion writing at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and political science at the CUNY Graduate Center. He serves as editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, a CNN political commentator, and a fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. His academic background includes a Yale University undergraduate degree followed by Rhodes Scholarship studies at Oxford University. Beinart has established himself as a significant voice in American political discourse through his teaching, writing, and media appearances. Beinart's research interests span political science, foreign policy, Middle East studies, journalism, Zionism, American politics, and international relations. His work frequently examines U.S. foreign policy, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, American political dynamics, and media's role in democracy. His intellectual trajectory has notably evolved on Israel-Palestine issues, culminating in his 2020 declaration that he "No Longer Believe[s] in a Jewish State." His recent publications reveal consistent focus on U.S. global leadership, Middle East policy, democratic norms, and political courage. The articles demonstrate his analytical approach connecting historical context with contemporary political challenges, particularly regarding American foreign policy and domestic democratic health. Columnist of the year for 2004 (The Week magazine) Rhodes Scholar Theodore H. White lecture at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government (2005) Beinart has advised numerous publications and appears regularly on major television programs. His academic work builds on his extensive journalism career that included editorship of The New Republic from 1999-2006. His teaching focuses on political journalism and the intersection of media with democratic processes.
Soo Ho Choi serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences within San José State University's College of Social Sciences. He has maintained faculty positions across multiple institutions including John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Santa Clara University, and UC Santa Cruz since 1992. His academic credentials include a Doctor of Philosophy from New York City Graduate School and University (1991) and a Master of Arts in Anthropology from Hunter College, New York (1984). Dr. Choi's scholarly focus integrates Sociology, Anthropology, and Cultural Studies with specialized expertise in Race and Ethnicity, Globalization, and Korean Pop Culture. His teaching portfolio encompasses courses on social problems, global society/culture, race/ethnicity/class dynamics, introductory sociology and anthropology, cultural change, East Asian civilizations, and Asian American Studies. He has secured a National Science Foundation Research Grant for his academic work. While specific advisees aren't documented, his three-decade career demonstrates extensive student mentorship through courses like 'K-Pop Culture' and 'Asian American Studies'.
Dr. Rob Dayley is a Professor of International Political Economy at The College of Idaho since 2000. He specializes in the political economy of the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on Southeast Asia, agrarian change in Thailand, and comparative political economy. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, an M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. in Political Science from Weber State University. His research includes two Fulbright grants to Thailand, teaching at Payap University (Chiang Mai) and China Agricultural University (Beijing), and fluency in Thai. He authored Southeast Asia in the New International Era (Routledge 2020), a widely used textbook. Dayley has led 11 off-campus courses to Southeast Asia/China and advises the Model UN program, which has won multiple awards. He served on the national board of ASIANetwork, creating and administering the Speakers Bureau grant program. In 2011, he was named Idaho Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and CASE. Currently, he serves as College of Idaho Faculty President-Elect and chairs the Davis Projects for Peace Campus Committee. Dayley’s work integrates teaching, research, and program development, particularly in the PEAK curriculum and Asian Studies initiatives. His research explores themes like Thai agrarian dynamics, ASEAN regionalism, and China’s political leadership. He balances academic pursuits with family life in Caldwell, Idaho, and outdoor activities in the Rocky Mountains.
Mark Bryan Manantan serves as the Director of Cybersecurity and Critical Technologies at the Pacific Forum and holds a non-resident fellowship at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, National Chengchi University. He leads the Cyber ASEAN capacity-building initiative and manages US Cyber, Technology, and Security partnerships with Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and South Korea. Education: BA in Broadcast Communication (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of the Philippines Master of International Relations (Advanced) with Honors from the Australian National University His research focuses on cybersecurity, cyber diplomacy, artificial intelligence, and technology policy, emphasizing capacity-building in the Asia-Pacific region and international technology partnerships. This work bridges policy development with practical implementation in critical technology domains. Scientific Awards: Australia Awards Scholarship Mr. Manantan has held visiting fellowships at the Japan Foundation, Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University, and the East-West Center. His prior professional experience includes research consultancy at the Asia Society Policy Institute and media/public relations roles with Procter & Gamble, Wells Fargo, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, and UNICEF.
Prof Ing-Sun Audrey Yue is Professor in the Department of Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she joined in July 2017 after 30 years in Australia. She previously served as Professor in Cultural Studies and Director of the Research Unit in Public Cultures at the University of Melbourne. Currently, she also holds positions as External Academic Advisor to the Department of Cultural Studies at Lingnan University (Hong Kong) and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Her research expertise spans three interconnected domains: Sinophone media cultures, cultural policy and development, and queer Asian studies. Dr. Yue has developed innovative frameworks examining digital citizenship in Asia, LGBTQ+ platform use, and cultural resilience during crises. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates cultural studies, media theory, and policy analysis to address contemporary challenges in digital societies. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a clear trajectory toward examining the intersection of digital technologies, identity formation, and cultural policy across the Asia-Pacific region. Her work increasingly focuses on emergent issues like AI-driven misinformation, digital sexual citizenship, and pandemic-era adaptations of youth mobility. This reflects her commitment to addressing pressing social issues through rigorous academic inquiry. National Teaching Excellence Award University-wide Teaching Excellence Award Distinguished Educator Award Dr. Yue has secured over AUD$6 million in international competitive research grants from Australia, Hong Kong, and Canada. She has established more than 16 industry partnerships across government and NGO sectors focusing on migrant youth, multicultural arts, and cultural development. Her current research portfolio includes five major projects examining transpacific film cities, art precincts in networked public space, ethnic cultural citizenship in Hong Kong, East Asian media flows in Australia, and culturally diverse youth status. She leads significant collaborative research networks including the Australian Research Council Discover Project on Art Precincts and Cultural Participation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada project on Transpacific Film Cities. Her work with government agencies, particularly her Ministerial Appointment to Australia's Victorian State Government's Multicultural Arts Policy Advisory Committee (2010-2012), demonstrates her commitment to translating academic research into practical policy applications.
Emily HC Chua serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where her work critically examines intersections of technology, capital, and culture in Singapore and China through anthropological and sociological lenses. Her educational background includes a PhD in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, an MA in History from NUS, and a BA in History and Art from Wesleyan University. Prior to academia, she worked as an art writer and visual artist. Chua's research centers on evolving entanglements of money, media, and society. Her current Money Island project investigates Singapore's fintech innovations—from trading apps to blockchain-based currencies—analyzing how these create "permanent-beta relationships to money" where windfall profits and deepfake scams coexist. Her acclaimed 2023 monograph The Currency of Truth reframes Chinese digital journalism as relational currency rather than mass communication. She further explores startup entrepreneurship, digital media, and political discourse across Asian contexts. Her research has secured funding from the American Council of Learned Societies, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and UC Berkeley Institute of East Asian Studies. Chua develops courses equipping students with ethnographic and theoretical tools to dissect contemporary societal challenges in technophilic, capitalist environments.
Gyung-Ho Jeong is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on US Politics, Legislative Politics (including Korea), Social Choice, and Political Economy. He employs quantitative methods such as Bayesian statistics and multilevel modeling. Specialized interests include foreign policy decision-making, legislative obstruction in Korea, polarization in US foreign policy, and institutional design. Jeong's work examines Congress' role in civil rights, immigration, trade, and foreign policy. He has published extensively on topics like legislative brawling in South Korea’s National Assembly, ideological conflicts in US foreign policy, and the polarization of energy policy. His methodological contributions include a unifying model for legislative voting analysis. He has received the 2018 Duncan Black Prize for his work on the League of Nations decision. His teaching spans courses on US government, comparative politics, and quantitative methods at UBC and Claremont Graduate University.
Hyejin Kim is a Senior Lecturer in the Political Science Department at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she also serves as deputy-convenor of the Global Studies program. She joined NUS in 2012 after working in the non-profit and private sectors. Her academic background includes a BA in Anthropology, an MA in International Studies (China Studies), and a PhD in Global Affairs from Rutgers University. Her research focuses on East Asian democracies, local politics in Korea and China, ethnic identities, global food systems, and transnational education policies. Notable areas include seed activism in South Korea, the role of international schools in Asia, and inter-Korean relations. Teaching interests span global migration, nonprofit management, and global food politics. Her work bridges political science and sociology, analyzing how national policies interact with global trends. Recent publications explore South Korea’s approach to research security, marketization of education systems, and food sovereignty movements. She has contributed policy analyses on Southeast Asia-North Korea relations and the impact of transnational education corporations. Her interdisciplinary research emphasizes cross-border dynamics, with a focus on how global forces reshape local institutions and identities. She frequently engages with policymakers and public discourse through editorial contributions to outlets like Asia Times and Channel News Asia.
Erik Martinez Kuhonta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, where he has been affiliated since January 2005. He is also a member of the Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID). His research focuses on comparative politics, Southeast Asian politics, political economy of development, and qualitative methods. Kuhonta holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University (2003), specializing in the political foundations of equitable development in Malaysia and Thailand. His academic accolades include the 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award and visiting fellowships at Kyoto University and the East-West Center. His education includes a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania (1995), where he received the Leo S. Rowe Memorial Prize for his honors thesis on comparative development and democracy. He also completed language and methods training at institutions like the University of Oregon and Arizona State University. Research interests span political institutions, democratization, and the political economy of inequality. He has published extensively, including books like *The Institutional Imperative: The Politics of Equitable Development in Southeast Asia* (2011) and co-edited volumes such as *Southeast Asia in Political Science* (2008). His work frequently addresses Thailand’s political dynamics, including studies on constitutional reforms, party systems, and social movements. Kuhonta has secured grants totaling over CAD 200,000 for projects on Southeast Asian politics, including SSHRC funding for research on middle-class democracy and party institutionalization. He has organized academic events like the Southeast Asia Lecture Series and contributed to policy discussions through commentaries in *Foreign Affairs* and *The Gazette*. His professional service includes roles in academic committees and advisory boards at McGill and beyond.
Nicholas Howson is the Pao Li Tsiang Professor of Law at the University of Michigan's Law School. His affiliations include the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies as an LRCCS Faculty member, and he holds academic visiting roles at Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, and Harvard law schools. He holds a JD from Columbia University and a BA from Williams College. His research focuses on Chinese law, including corporate law, securities regulation, legal history, and constitutionalism in Greater China. He has advised international organizations like the Ford Foundation, UNDP, and Asian Development Bank on PRC legal reforms, and participates in US-China arbitration as a foreign arbitrator for major Chinese arbitration commissions. He previously chaired the Asian Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar Association. Recent scholarly contributions explore securities fraud litigation, judicial autonomy in authoritarian systems, and historical roots of China's legal structures. His work bridges Chinese legal practices with comparative frameworks, emphasizing transnational regulatory dynamics. Professional activities include serving as a Council on Foreign Relations member, advising on cross-border legal disputes, and contributing to global legal policy dialogues. His teaching spans courses on Chinese corporation law, securities regulation, and comparative legal systems.
Dr. Jinah Kwon is a Researcher in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies at the University of Sheffield. Her work focuses on political sociology, with an interdisciplinary emphasis on North Korean migration, human rights, and gender studies. She holds a Ph.D. from an unlisted institution, with a dissertation on North Korean women's migration choices, supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) grant for publication under Palgrave Macmillan Studies on Human Rights in Asia. Previously, she served as a Lecturer in Contemporary Issues in Development at Korea University's College of International Studies (2020–2023) and as a Senior Research Fellow at Soongsil Institute for Peace and Unification. Her research spans 15 years, collaborating with civil society, governments, and international organizations on North Korean human rights. Dr. Kwon is a 2023 recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Education. Her publications address topics like North Korean refugees, neoliberal capitalism, and gender-based methodologies, appearing in journals such as Journal of Peace and Unification and The Journal of Asian Women .
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Trautner is an Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen's Institute of Political Science, within the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. His professional career includes roles in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the German Development Institute in Bonn, and diplomatic postings such as at the German Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He holds a PhD (1997) from Bremen University and an M.A. (1992) from Heidelberg University. His research focuses on constructive conflict resolution in the Middle East and North Africa, development policy, and transnational Islamic institutions. Key areas include Middle Eastern political dynamics, Islamic legal thought modernity, and stabilization strategies in post-conflict regions. His work bridges academic scholarship with practical policy-making in development and conflict mitigation. Publications span conflict analysis, Islamic studies, and regional development, with notable contributions on peripheral Islam in Southeast Asia and transnational Turkish-German religious networks. His academic contributions emphasize historical context and policy relevance, reflecting his dual career in academia and government. Teaching: Courses include International Development: Theories, Policies, Practices and Studying Development: Empirical Patterns and Policy Practices . Labs/Teams: Former member of the Middle East and Comparative Politics team led by Prof. Schlumberger at Tübingen.
Prof. Jean-Pierre Cabestan is a Professor and Head of the Department of Government and International Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, and an associate researcher at the Asia Centre, Sciences Po, Paris . He has held prior roles including Senior Researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Director of the Taipei Office of the CEFC. Education: Holds a Ph.D. from the University of Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne) . Research focuses on Cross-Strait relations , the Beijing-Washington-Taipei Triangle , Taiwan’s security , and confidence-building measures . His work combines analyses of China’s political system, legal reforms, and Sino-Russian dynamics using geopolitical frameworks. Recent publications explore themes such as regional security, Sino-Taiwanese tensions, and strategic alliances in Eurasia. Scientific Awards: No awards listed. Advising & Grants: No advisees or grants mentioned. His previous roles include Lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies (1990-1991). Labs/Teams: No specific labs or teams detailed in the provided information.
Jaeho Cho is a Professor at the University of California, Davis, affiliated with the Department of East Asian Studies and the College of Letters and Science. He holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2005). His research focuses on how political communication and mediated information contribute to democratic engagement, with emphasis on media effects, citizen discourse, and polarization. Key areas include the role of social media in political expression, algorithmic impacts on democracy, and the interplay between information exposure and decision-making. Dr. Cho has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the LRP Best Article of the Year Award (2008) and the Political Communication Division’s Best Article Award (2006). His teaching spans political communication, media effects, and survey research methods. Recent work explores topics such as podcast influence on protests, AI-driven political interactions, and geographic diversity’s effect on partisan communication. He emphasizes the importance of understanding how digital media shapes political participation and public health behaviors, including vaccine hesitancy linked to social media use. His research bridges theoretical frameworks like information processing and inoculation theory with empirical studies on global contexts, including India’s electoral campaigns and Arab-world internet activism. Dr. Cho’s work consistently addresses the dual challenges of misinformation and polarization in modern democracies, advocating for evidence-based solutions to enhance civic discourse.
