Jonathan A. Chu

Jonathan A. Chu is an Assistant Professor (Presidential Young Professor) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, where he also chairs the Master in International Affairs (MIA) program. His research focuses on how global norms and opinion impact the politics of war, democracy, and great power rivalry, with publications appearing in top journals including Journal of Politics, World Politics, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Chu received his B.A. in political science from UC San Diego and his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University, where he was a U.S. National Science Foundation Fellow. He completed postdoctoral work at Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania.

• B.A.: Political Science, UC San Diego
• Ph.D.: Political Science, Stanford University (NSF Fellow)
• Postdoc: Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania

His research spans Comparative Politics, Democracy, Great Power Policymaking, Identity and Norms, and Public Opinion, with particular focus on how humanitarian and liberal democratic institutions shape international affairs, especially in areas of war and conflict. His methodological expertise includes survey research and experimental methods to examine political behavior across different cultural contexts. Recent work investigates how international organizations legitimize foreign policy decisions and how citizens process information about wartime conduct.

His recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the intersection of public opinion, international norms, and foreign policy decision-making, with increasing attention to great power competition and the liberal international order. His book Social Cues: How the Liberal Community Legitimizes Humanitarian Wars (Cambridge University Press, 2025) presents a novel theoretical framework for understanding how international organizations like NATO build legitimacy for military interventions.

His notable awards and recognitions include:

• U.S. National Science Foundation Fellowship during doctoral studies
• Finkelstein Paper Prize from the International Studies Association
• Weber Paper Prize from the American Political Science Association
• Leonard Davis Genocide Prevention Fellow at the Simon-Skodt Center (2025-26)

Professor Chu has received grant funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and serves in significant academic leadership roles including founding Director of Research of CivicPulse, former lab manager of the Stanford Survey Lab, and current chair of the MIA program. He contributes to the scholarly community as an editorial board member of the Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and Journal of Experimental Political Science, where he helps shape the direction of research in political science and international relations.

He is currently completing his book project and expanding his research on genocide prevention through his fellowship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, while continuing to investigate how democratic values shape international responses to humanitarian crises and great power competition.