Ketian Zhang

Ketian Zhang standing outside and smiling while wearing a blue blazer and glasses
Titles and Organizations

Assistant Professor

Contact Information

kzhang20@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-4983
Aquia, Room 329
George Mason University, MS 3F4
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

Personal Websites

Biography

Ketian Vivian Zhang is an assistant professor of international security in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She studies rising powers, coercion, economic statecraft, and maritime disputes in international relations and social movements in comparative politics, with a regional focus on China and East Asia. Ketian bridges the study of international relations and comparative politics and has a broader theoretical interest in linking international security and international political economy. Her first book from Cambridge University Press examines when, why, and how China uses coercion when faced with issues of national security, such as territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, foreign arms sales to Taiwan, and foreign leaders’ reception of the Dalai Lama. Part of her research has appeared in International Security, Journal of Strategic Studies, and Journal of Contemporary China, among other venues. Ketian is currently working on her second book that explores the relationship between economic interdependence and rising power grand strategies. Ketian received her PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018, and is also a proud badger.

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