Center for a New American Security

Fellow and Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program

Dr. Ely Ratner is the Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. His research interests include U.S. national security strategy in Asia, China’s foreign relations in the region and the U.S.-China bilateral relationship. 

Dr. Ratner recently served in the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs at the State Department as the lead political officer covering China’s external relations in Asia.  He was an International Affairs Fellow sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations.  His portfolio included China’s activities in and relations with North Korea, Japan, Burma, the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Prior to joining the State Department, Dr. Ratner was an Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, where he performed research and long-range analysis on the rise of China, the People’s Liberation Army and regional security in Asia.  He previously worked in the U.S. Senate in the Office of Senator Joseph R. Biden, D-Del. and later as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

His commentary and research have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Washington Quarterly, The National Interest, Democracy, Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Review, Chinese Journal of International Politics, Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.  Dr. Ratner is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations and previously served as an IC Associate and a Research Fellow in the inaugural class of the National Asia Research Program.

Dr. Ratner received his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Dr. Ratner lives with his wife Jennifer and son Ian in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, D.C.