Shifting Power and Influence in Asia and the Indo-Pacific

Speakers for this event

• Dr. Bernard Cole

  Dr. Bernard Cole

  Bernard D. Cole served from 1965-1995 as a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy, including tours as Commanding Officer of USS RATHBURNE (FF1057) and Commander, Destroyer Squadron 35. He served as an NGLO with the Third Marine Division in Vietnam in 1967-1968, including serving at Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive. He has written many articles and book chapters, and eight books about Asian security and energy issues, most recently China’s Quest for Great Power: Ships, Oil, and Foreign Policy, published in November 2016. Cole was named U.S. Naval Institute Press “Author of the Year” for 2014. His first novel, Red Shark at Sea: A Novel About the Chinese Navy, was published in March 2023. Cole served as a Professor of Maritime Strategy at the National War College from 1995 to 2015, He also led many student and faculty delegations to China. Cole then taught for two years at Georgetown University and currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses. He has lectured widely throughout the United States and internationally. Cole earned an A.B. in History (University of North Carolina), M.P.A. in National Security Affairs (University of Washington), and Ph.D. in History (Auburn University).

• Dr. Cynthia Watson

  Dr. Cynthia Watson

  Moderator

  Professor Emerita, National War College Provost Emerita, National Defense University Dr. Cynthia A. Watson joined the Faculty of the National War College in August 1992, serving as Dean of Faculty & Academic Programs from March 2018 through July 2021 when she assumed the Interim Provost position for the National Defense University. Dr. Watson taught across the curriculum and served in academic leadership roles across the College over her twenty-nine years there. Dr. Watson earned a MA from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from the University of Notre Dame. Her undergraduate alma mater, University of Missouri Kansas City, honored her as Alumna of the Year in 2011. She is an expert in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions. She is currently on the Boards of Directors for the National Bureau of Asian Research and the National War College Alumni Association. She is also a member of both the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Society for Military History. Her first edition (2002) of U.S. National Security received CHOICE's designation as a Book of the Year. Other publications include Nation-Building, U.S. Military Service, Military Education, US National Security (2nd edition), Political Role of the Military (co-edited with Constantine Danopoulos), _Interest Groups in National Security, and_ Geographic Combatant Commands. Dr. Watson has functional expertise in curriculum development; economic/political history; strategic foundations; and professional military education. She reads bilingually in Spanish and English for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Dr. Watson is a keen photographer and calligrapher. She writes Actions Create Consequences at https: //CynthiaWatson.substack.com

  Moderator

• Dr. Jongseok Woo

  Dr. Jongseok Woo

  Professor of Political Science at the University of South Florida

  Jongseok Woo is an associate professor of political science at the University of South Florida. He earned his MA (2004) and Ph. D. (2007) in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in international security, military politics, East Asian security, and political corruption. He has (co)authored three books: Security Challenges and Military Politics in East Asia: From State Building to Post-Democratization (Bloomsbury, 2011), Politics in North and South Korea: Political Development, Economy, and Foreign Relations (Routledge, 2018), and Political Corruption and Democratic Governance (Lexington/Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Contemporary Politics, Pacific Focus, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Korea Observer, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Issues & Studies, and Problems of Post-Communism. He is currently writing a book on military and politics in North Korea. At USF, he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on international security, military politics, East Asian politics, Asian security, conflict in the world, and Korean politics and society.

  Professor of Political Science at the University of South Florida