Jung Jae Kwon

Jung Jae Kwon is a postdoctoral fellow in technology and international security at the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) in Washington, D.C. His research focuses on the interplay between conventional military strategy and nuclear weapons in U.S.-led alliances. His book project investigates how U.S. allies shape their military postures in divergent ways while relying on the U.S. security guarantee and nuclear umbrella. The project builds on his Ph.D. dissertation, which received the 2025 Lucian Pye Award for Best Doctoral Thesis in Political Science at MIT. Jung Jae’s research broadly encompasses nuclear strategy, conventional military strategy, escalation dynamics, and the alliance politics of extended deterrence.

Previously, Jung Jae was a Stanton Nuclear Security Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Project on Managing the Atom and a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow at the Notre Dame International Security Center. Jung Jae received his Ph.D. in Political Science from MIT in 2025. He holds an LL.M. in China Studies (Politics and International Relations) from the Yenching Academy of Peking University and a B.A. in Government, magna cum laude, from Harvard University. To learn more about Jung Jae and his work, visit his personal website here.

Plans for Fellowship: During the fellowship period, Jung Jae will focus on preparing the manuscript for his book project. He also plans to continue working on articles related to conventional warfighting in the nuclear age, nuclear dynamics on the Korean Peninsula, and the alliance politics of missile defense.