Alex Chang Lee

Alex Chang Lee was a 2021-2022 Postdoctoral Fellow in Technology and International Security at the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) based in Washington, D.C. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Irvine; an M.A. in International Security from Korea University; and a B.A. in International Studies from Southern Methodist University. Before joining the Postdoctoral Fellowship in Technology and International Security, Alex was a 2019-2020 Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT; a 2016-2017 Japanese Doctoral Fellow at The University of Tokyo; a 2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar at the Korea University; and a 2016 James Kelly Non-resident Fellow at Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies. His specializations include nuclear non-proliferation, East Asia, comparative foreign policy, and international security studies. His current research includes analyzing the political motivation to acquire nuclear weapons in Japan and South Korea; and how each state’s nuclear policy decision-making will affect U.S. foreign policy and security strategy.

His dissertation, Nuclear Debates and Political Competition in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (China): Denuclearization or Nuclear Latency in the Aftermath of Fukushima, examines why these three countries’ post-Fukushima nuclear policies were so different and how these deviating outcomes influence these states’ nuclear energy/weapons, U.S. foreign policy in East Asia, and the international order. The research identifies four variants of domestic coalitions relevant to nuclear politics—pro-nuclear energy, pro-nuclear weapons, anti-nuclear energy, and anti-nuclear weapons—and makes a strong case for how pro-nuclear weapons coalitions have emerged to play a significant role in shaping nuclear weapons policy.