Jonathan Stromseth

Jonathan Stromseth is a senior fellow at Brookings, where he holds the Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asian Studies in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies. He also holds a joint appointment with the Brookings John L. Thornton China Center.

Stromseth has broad experience as a policymaker, scholar, and development practitioner. From 2014 to 2017, he served on the secretary of state’s policy planning staff, advising the State Department’s leadership on China, Southeast Asia, and East Asian and Pacific affairs. Previously, he was The Asia Foundation’s country representative to China (2006–2014) and to Vietnam (2000–2005), and is a three-time recipient of the Foundation’s President’s Award for extraordinary program leadership. He has also conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar in Singapore, worked for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cambodia, and taught Southeast Asian politics at Columbia University.

In the scholarly domain, Stromseth is co-author of “China’s Governance Puzzle: Enabling Transparency and Participation in a Single-Party State” (Cambridge University Press, 2017). This study not only documents the origins and scope of reforms promoting transparency and participation in China, but also analyzes the impact of these reforms on important governance outcomes across provinces and over time. The book argues that the reforms have resulted in lower corruption and enhanced legal compliance, although these outcomes also depend on a broader societal ecosystem that includes an active media and robust civil society.

In addition, Stromseth’s publications include a multi-volume series on U.S.-Vietnam relations as well as articles and reports on policymaking in Vietnam, geopolitical trends in Southeast Asia, Chinese foreign policy, and foreign aid cooperation in Asia. At Brookings, Stromseth is focusing his research on U.S. Asia policy in the context of escalating U.S.-China rivalry in Southeast Asia. He is also examining the possibilities for expanded U.S. partnerships with emerging partners like Vietnam and Indonesia.

Stromseth has extensive experience implementing governance reform projects in Asia. In Vietnam, he created programs to encourage private sector growth through improved economic governance, culminating in the influential Provincial Competitiveness Index, which ranks all Vietnamese provinces based on key governance indicators. In China, he designed and managed a multi-year project to strengthen public participation in policymaking, working with legislative authorities and China’s top law schools to train officials and support policy innovations. He also led a program to promote government transparency by supporting Open Government Information (OGI) initiatives at the provincial level.

He holds a doctorate in political science from Columbia University, where his studies focused on comparative politics and international relations in the Asia-Pacific region. His academic awards include a Columbia President’s Fellowship as well as research fellowships from the Social Science Research Council and the Institute for the Study of World Politics.

Affiliations:

• Council on Foreign Relations, member
• National Committee on United States-China Relations, member

Education

• Ph.D., Columbia University, 1998
• M.Phil., Columbia University, 1992
• M.I.A., Columbia University, 1991
• B.A., St. Olaf College, 1985