Victor Cha

President, Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair
Victor Cha

Victor Cha is president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a distinguished university professor and professor of government at Georgetown University. From 2021 to 2025, he was appointed by the Biden administration to serve on the Defense Policy Board in an advisory role to the secretary of defense. From 2004 to 2007, he served on the National Security Council (NSC), where he was responsible for Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations. Dr. Cha was the U.S. deputy head of delegation at the Six Party Talks and received two outstanding service commendations during his tenure at the NSC. He is the author of nine books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States–Korea–Japan Security Triangle (Stanford University Press, 1999), which won the 2000 Ohira Book Prize, and The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco, 2012), selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012.” His other books are Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies (Columbia University Press, 2003); Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2009); Powerplay: Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia (Princeton University Press, 2018); Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale University Press, 2023); The Black Box: Demystifying the Study of Korean Unification and North Korea (Columbia University Press, 2024); North Korea’s Sea-Based WMD Capability (Bloomsbury, 2025); and China’s Weaponization of Trade: Resistance through Collective Resilience (Columbia University Press, 2026). Dr. Cha is a two-time Fulbright scholar and a former Olin fellow at Harvard University, as well as a former Hoover, Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Koret fellow at Stanford University. He currently serves on the editorial boards of ten academic journals and is coeditor of the Contemporary Asia book series at Columbia University Press. He serves on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the Korea Society and is a senior fellow at the George W. Bush Institute. Dr. Cha received his PhD, MIA, and BA from Columbia University and a BA with honors from Oxford University.

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Victor Cha's Analysis

Photo: Chris Jung/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Photo: Chris Jung/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Impact of the Iran Conflict on South Korea: By the Numbers

One month into the Iran conflict, no noncombatant country has been hit harder than South Korea. The Lee government faces not just economic but political pressures as a result of the war.

Commentary by Victor Cha and Andy Lim — April 2, 2026

Victor Cha's Podcasts

Photo: CSIS

The BTS Homecoming: Does Korea's Soft Power Work?

In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Dr. Jinaeng Choi and Timothy Martin to discuss the recent BTS comeback concert, how Korean culture around the world can impact Korea's soft power, how it may influence global audiences, and more. 

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha, Jinaeng Choi , and Timothy Martin — April 8, 2026

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The Impossible State

The BTS Homecoming: Does Korea's Soft Power Work?

In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Dr. Jinaeng Choi and Timothy Martin to discuss the recent BTS comeback concert, how Korean culture around the world can impact Korea's soft power, how it may influence global audiences, and more. 

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha, Jinaeng Choi , and Timothy Martin — April 8, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast
Audio Briefs

The Impact of the Iran Conflict on South Korea: By the Numbers

An audio version of “⁠The Impact of the Iran Conflict on South Korea: By the Numbers⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Victor Cha and Andy Lim. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.  

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Andy Lim — April 2, 2026

Audio Briefs
The Impossible State

Is the Pivot to Asia Dead?

In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Dr. Tom Wright and Dr. Kristi Govella on examining Washington’s failed pivot to Asia, expectations for Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit to Washington, and its potential impact on the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and broader regional dynamics.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha — March 20, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast

The Impossible State Live Podcast: Is the Pivot to Asia Dead?

Is the Pivot to Asia Dead? What should we expect from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to Washington? Dr. Victor Cha hosts a discussion with leading experts on these issues on the Impossible State Live Podcast.

Event — March 18, 2026

The Trade Guys

Victor Cha on China's Weaponization of Trade

Victor Cha joins the show to discuss a series of cases from his new book, China's Weaponization of Trade, which examines how and in what ways the United States and China have deployed economic coercion, focusing on China’s extensive use of this tactic over the past three decades.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha, Scott Miller, and William Alan Reinsch — March 16, 2026

CSIS The Trade Guys

A Closer Look at the Yelabuga UAV Factory

Satellite imagery shows rapid expansion of Russian UAV and UCAV production infrastructure at the Yelabuga Special Economic Zone, with reports suggesting potential North Korean labor involvement.

Commentary by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha, and Jennifer Jun — March 9, 2026