Tom_Christensen

Thomas Christensen

James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations

Tom_Christensen

Room 1314A International Affairs Building

212-851-9320


Personal Details

Thomas J. Christensen is Professor of Public and International Affairs and Director of the China and the World Program at Columbia University.  He arrived in 2018 from Princeton University where he was William P. Boswell Professor of World Politics of Peace and War, Director of the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program, and faculty director of the Masters of Public Policy Program and the Truman Scholars Program.   From 2006-2008 he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for relations with China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. His research and teaching focus on China’s foreign relations, the international relations of East Asia, and international security.  His most recent book is Lost in the Cold War: The Story of Jack Downey, America’s Longest-Held POW (Columbia Univ. Press, 2022).  His earlier book, The China Challenge:  Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power (W.W. Norton) was an editors’ choice at the New York Times Book Review, a “Book of the Week” on CNN”s Fareed Zakaria GPS, and the Arthur Ross Book Award Silver Medalist for 2016 at the Council on Foreign Relations. Professor Christensen has also taught at Cornell University and MIT. He received his B.A. with honors in History from Haverford College, M.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. He has served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, as co-editor of the International History and Politics series at Princeton University Press, and as a member of the Academic Advisory Committee for the Schwarzman Scholars Program. He is currently the Chair of the Editorial Board of the Nancy B. Tucker and Warren I. Cohen Book Series on the United States in Asia at Columbia University Press.  Professor Christensen is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Non-Resident Senior Scholar at the Brookings Institution. He was presented with a Distinguished Public Service Award by the United States Department of State.

Education

  • PhD, Columbia University
  • MA, University of Pennslyvania
  • BA, Haverford College

In The Media

Geopolitical Stability

Tom Christensen, Columbia University professor, former State Department official, and new CSIS Pritzker Chair, joins the podcast to discuss U.S. strategic competition with China and how we should reframe our thinking about it.

Jun 03 2025
The Truth of the Matter
Geopolitical Stability

The Chair—one of CSIS’s most prestigious positions—is named in honor of Thomas J. Pritzker, who has served as chairman of the CSIS Board of Trustees since 2015.

Mar 27 2025
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Geopolitical Stability

Peter Dutton, one of the country’s leading experts on international maritime law, spoke with SIPA’s Tom Christensen to discuss the South China Sea.

Mar 10 2025

SIPA hosted a memorable evening in our nation’s capital, where leading thinkers, practitioners, and alumni connected to discuss solutions to pressing global issues.

Feb 21 2025

Thomas Christensen and co-authors discuss in a letter exchange that Washington and Taiwan are not doing enough to assure Beijing of their intentions, in the process undermining deterrence in the Taiwan Strait.

Feb 23 2024
Foreign Affairs

Research and Publications