I hold a Ph.D. in political science and am currently Visiting Scholar at the Seoul National University Asia Center and Non-resident Kelly Fellow at the Pacific Forum. I am also Expert at Terner Consulting, Non-resident Fellow at the European Centre for North Korean Studies, and a Non-resident Research Fellow at the ROK Forum for Nuclear Strategy.

I was previously a Marcellus Policy Fellow at the John Quincy Adams Society and a visiting research fellow at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies. I was named one of the Next Generation Korea Peninsula Specialists at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and a Young Leader of the Pacific Forum. My research expertise centers on international relations theory, with a primary focus on balance-of-power theory, great power competition, and Korean affairs. More specifically, I am interested in how the balance of power influences states’ foreign and defense policies, as well as their domestic matters. My works have appeared in numerous academic journals and magazines.

Up to now, I have authored three books: How Louis XIV Survived His Hegemonic Bid: The Lessons of the Sun King’s War Termination (Anthem Press, 2025), Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior During the Cold War: A Theory of Armed Emergence (Routledge, 2025) and Bandwagoning in International Relations: China, Russia, and Their Neighbors (Vernon Press, 2024).

How Louis XIV Survived His Hegemonic Bid is a concise book that analyzes how Louis XIV managed to fight wars for hegemony without suffering a decisive defeat. It highlights his strategic use of coalition-breaking diplomacy, showing how he avoided the fate of other would-be hegemons. Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior focuses on post-1945 Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Vietnam, examining why only a few states attempted territorial expansion through force in the bipolar Cold War system. It proposes a new realist framework where geography and reactions from existing powers explain when and why such attempts occurred. Bandwagoning in International Relations is the first fully developed neorealist explanation of bandwagoning, identifying the conditions under which smaller states align with stronger powers. Through cases in Asia and Europe, it argues that the severity of foreign threats, external conflicts, and the absence of U.S. support drives bandwagoning.

My passion for international politics was sparked in middle school during a history class on totalitarianism and has remained with me ever since. The 2008 Russo-Georgian War was a watershed moment that solidified my drive to study and understand foreign affairs from an early age. For reasons I still struggle to explain, I decided to leave my native France and relocate to South Korea, where I gained a master’s degree in political science. As I discovered the fun of academic life and came to appreciate Korean life more and more, I followed that with a Ph.D.

Now free from school obligations, I devote my time to writing on international politics as much as possible, for the sake of knowledge, to interact with the interested public, and, hopefully, to offer decision-makers good advice. Specifically, I believe the realist school of international relations offers crucial insights in order to make sense of the convulsions of today’s world. Researching realist theory and writing about international security is my preferred way to serve the community.

The upheaval of global politics happening today has already happened before. Under other skies, under forgotten flags, with people long gone. But, since the fundamentals of political power remain the same, the same patterns reoccur endlessly. Hence, understanding the past offers key clues about the present — and perhaps the future. That is why my next big academic project will be a monograph on medieval international politics.

I am always happy to discuss and exchange ideas about international relations, so feel free to reach out to me on my social media to stay in touch.