Niklas Swanström
Executive Director and Head of the Stockholm Korea Center
Twitter: niklasswanstrom LinkedIn: niklasswanstrom ResearchGate: Niklas Swanström
Dr. Niklas Swanström is the Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, and one of its co-founders. He is a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). His main areas of expertise are conflict prevention, conflict management and regional cooperation; Chinese foreign policy and security in Northeast Asia; the Belt and Road Initiative, traditional and non-traditional security threats and its effect on regional and national security as well as negotiations. His focus is mainly on Northeast Asia, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
Dr. Swanström has authored, co-authored or edited a number of books, including: Eurasia’s ascent in Energy and geopolitics, Sino-Japanese Relations: The need for Conflict Prevention and Management, Transnationell brottslighet: ett säkerhetshot? (Trans-national Crime: A security Threat?), Regional Cooperation and Conflict Management: Lessons from the Pacific Rim and Foreign Devils, Dictatorship or Institutional Control: China ‘s foreign policy towards Southeast Asia.
Dr. Swanström holds a Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies from Uppsala University. His dissertation dealt with regional cooperation and conflict management in the Pacific Rim. He also holds a Licentiate degree from the Department of Peace and Conflict research that examined the Chinese foreign policy towards Southeast Asia. He holds MA degrees from Uppsala University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has also been a student at Beijing Languages Institute, Beijing University and Dalian Languages University.
Ongoing Book Projects:
- East Asia Security Cooperation: Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk? with World Scientific
- U.S. and E.U., and the Emerging Supply Chain Network: Politics, Prospects, and Allies
Affiliations:
- Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
- Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Teaching Engagements:
- “History of International Relations” at the University of Pavia
Publications by Niklas Swanström
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South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Ambitions and Reality
South Korea launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy, the so-called “Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region,” in December 2022. The strategy has rightly attracted widespread attention, not least because […]
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Johns Hopkins SAIS Faculty and Fellow Reflections: The War in Ukraine at One Year
One year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) faculty and SAIS Foreign Policy Institute fellows explain the current state of the […]
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The China-Russia ‘Alliance’: Double the Danger or Limited Partnership?
Introduction: According to the recently released 2022 U.S. National Security Strategy, China and Russia “are increasingly aligned with each other but the challenges they pose are, in important ways, distinct.” These […]
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China: Can It Control Japan’s Taiwan Policy?
Introduction: China’s reaction to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was resolute. The military exercises with live-fire drill were a nearly Pavlovian reaction suggesting they were long pre-planned. […]
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Renewable Energy and Climate Action: The Future of Japan and Sweden Cooperation
This joint publication of the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) and Kajima Institute of International Peace (KIIP) in Tokyo covers a solution-oriented approach to Climate Challenges that both […]
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EU’s Perception of the Chinese Westward Expansion
Introduction: Europe has lately been reluctant to see further unrestricted Chinese expansion into the European continent, not least in the eastern and central European states. Even if many states initially […]
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The Party-State Dichotomy: Convergence and Divergence in China’s Foreign Policy
Introduction: Xi Jinping has consolidated much of the power in the Chinese system, and his foreign policy is no different from other areas. On the contrary, President Xi has been […]
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South Korea’s Relations With China and the US Under President-elect Yoon
Introduction: The presidential election in South Korea was a close call. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party won the election with a margin of 0.8 percentage points over […]
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Collective Self-Defense Against Authoritarianism: Lessons for EU
Executive Summary: Economic coercion and disinformation have been a clear factor in Europe’s ties with both China and Russia. They are part of the reactionary policy used by authoritarian regimes […]
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AUKUS: Resetting European Thinking on Indo-Pacific?
This special publication brings together a number of experts from Europe and Asia to discuss the implications of AUKUS for Europe. The AUKUS is a critical geopolitical development. It has […]