Ian Easton is a senior director at the Project 2049 Institute, where he conducts research on defense and security issues in Asia. During the summer of 2013 he was a visiting fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo.
He is the author of three books. His most recent publication, The Final Struggle: Inside China’s Global Strategy, details the economic and global rise of China, and its increasing competition with democratic norms and institutions.
Previously, Ian worked as a China analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) for two years. Prior to that, he lived in Taipei from 2005 to 2010. During his time in Taiwan, he worked as a translator for Island Technologies Inc. and the Foundation for Asia-Pacific Peace Studies. While in Taiwan, he also conducted research with the Asia Bureau Chief of Defense News.
Ian holds an M.A. in China Studies from National Chengchi University in Taiwan and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a certification in advanced Mandarin Chinese, having formally studied the language at Fudan University in Shanghai, and National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.
Ian’s research has been featured in major media outlets in the United States and Asia, including the New York Times, Reuters, US News and World Report, Huffington Post, NHK, CCTV, the Diplomat, and the Taipei Times. He has testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and lectured at the U.S. Naval War College, Japan’s National Defense Academy, and Taiwan’s National Defense University. Ian is the author of “The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia” (The Project 2049 Institute, October 2017).