Lindsey Ford

Research Associate

Lindsey Ford is a research associate at CNAS, where she specializes in Asian security issues and recently co-authored a study on the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Lindsey completed a Master of Public Affairs and a Master of Arts in Asian Studies at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in August 2008. Previously, she worked as a consultant for the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand where she assessed governance and rule of law in China and Southeast Asia. Prior to her work with the United Nations, she consulted with the Congressional Research Service, for whom she co-authored a 2006 study, Port and Supply-Chain Security Initiatives in the U.S. and Abroad, and served as the project lead for Hong Kong and China. While completing her studies, Lindsey served as an assistant to Dean James B. Steinberg, as a research assistant to the Director of Studies at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and as a Legislative Intern with the Texas State Legislature. Lindsey speaks French and Mandarin Chinese and has also studied at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Five-Way Talks May Exclude North Korea
Author(s): Lee Jong-Heon
Source: UPI Asia
Date: 06/23/2009

June 23, 2009 - UPI Asia cites CNAS's recently-released report on North Korea and its argument that the "proposed five-party dialogue could help the Obama administration achieve two strategic goals – strengthening its commitment to Northeast Asian allies and denuclearizing the Korean peninsula."

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Five-Party Talks 'Viable Option'
Author(s): Kim Ji-hyun , Ahn Hyo-rim
Source: The Korea Herald
Date: 06/18/2009

June 18, 2009 - The Korea Herald cites the recently released CNAS report on North Korea and its recommendations to the Obama Administration on how to strategically manage the North Korea crisis.

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Will Offshore Searches Slow North Korean Nukes?
Author(s): Mark Thompson
Source: Time Magazine
Date: 06/17/2009

June 17, 2009 - TIME Magazine cites the new CNAS report on the North Korea crisis in a recent analysis. "While North Korea's most recent aggression has not yet led to violent outbreaks in the region, such clashes are a distinct possibility in the near future," says the report.

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DoD Buzz: US Beefs Up China Response
Author(s): Colin Clark
Source: DoD Buzz
Date: 03/16/2009

March 16, 2009 - CNAS hosted an event last week to highlight a new report on what the Obama administration's Asia strategy should look like. Michael McDevitt, who spoke at the event, talks to DoD Buzz about whether the U.S. should pursue more talks with China on maritime issues.

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The Japan Times: Think tank urges Japan, U.S. to draw even closer
Source: The Japan Times
Date: 03/11/2009

March 11, 2009 - The Japan Times cites the newly released CNAS report on the Asia-Pacific Region, "The report notes that many of the challenges the alliance has faced over the past decade have stemmed from a lack of clarity from Tokyo and Washington on alliance-based cooperation and commitment. Thus, it says, a new joint security declaration "will help manage expectations and reduce friction within the alliance."

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World Politics Review: Rebuilding Civilian Capacity--It's All About the Hill
Author(s): Vikram Singh , Lindsey Ford
Source: World Politics Review
Date: 12/23/2008

December 23, 2008-- "Since the end of the Cold War, our civilian agencies have slowly been eroded by inadequate resources and a sclerotic bureaucracy," opine CNAS' Vikram Singh and Linsdey Ford. Singh and Ford argue Clinton will need leadership from Congress in adressing significant national security reforms: "Although President-elect Obama has promised to revitalize the non-military instruments of statecraft, the White House alone cannot bring the change we need. The president may be the foreign policy 'decider,' but ultimately, Congress must be the 'designer.'

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No Illusions: Regaining the Strategic Initiative with North Korea
Author(s): Abraham M. Denmark, Nirav Patel, Lindsey Ford, Michael Zubrow, Zachary M. Hosford
Type of Publication: Working Papers
Date: 06/11/2009

Pyongyang has spoken: North Korea has chosen the path of confrontation. Despite a series of agreements orchestrated by the Clinton and Bush administrations, North Korea has made no progress toward engagement and denuclearization, and has abdicated its commitments to the international community.

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U.S.-DPRK Nuclear Negotiations: A Survey of the Policy Literature
Author(s): Lindsey Ford, Zachary Hosford, Michael Zubrow
Type of Publication: Working Papers
Date: 04/25/2009

North Korea’s nuclear program is one of the longest-standing and most difficult proliferation challenges the United States faces today. In many ways, the regime and its nuclear program stand as relics of the Cold War, seemingly at odds with the rapid development of the rest of the Asia-Pacific.

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North Korea Nuclear Time Line
Author(s): Lindsey Ford, Zachary Hosford, Michael Zubrow
Type of Publication: Factsheet
Date: 04/07/2009

This timeline provides a short overview of the major developments in U.S.-DPRK negotiations in the last 20 years.

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The United States and the Asia-Pacific Region: Security Strategy for the Obama Administration
Author(s): Ralph A. Cossa, Brad Glosserman, Michael A. McDevitt, Nirav Patel, James Przystup, Brad Roberts
Type of Publication: Report
Date: 02/24/2009

February 2009 - Ongoing shifts in geopolitical power from West to East make the Asia-Pacific region more important to the United States today than ever before. The region is already an engine of the global economy, and major Asian countries are becoming global economic and political actors. Yet, as Asia’s importance has grown over the last decade, Washington has often been focused elsewhere. The Obama administration needs a more active approach to the Asia-Pacific region that recognizes the new geopolitical realities and positions the United States to deal effectively with the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

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Going Global: The Future of the U.S.-South Korea Alliance
Author(s): Kurt M. Campbell, Victor D. Cha, Lindsey Ford, Nirav Patel, Randy Schriver, Vikram J. Singh, Kazuyo Kato
Type of Publication: Report
Date: 02/23/2009

February 2009 - The United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have one of the most formidable and durable military alliances in the world. This alliance has preserved peace and stability in Northeast Asia and ensured nuclear restraint among Asian powers. It has weathered extreme domestic unpopularity in South Korea and pressures to reduce U.S. overseas defense obligations.

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