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Van Jackson, PhD      

Asian Security Scholar and Foreign Policy Innovator; Former Director for Korea Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Former Pentagon Defense Strategist

Dr. Van Jackson is a Visiting Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, researching the intersection of Asian security, strategy, and technology. He is also a Visiting Scholar with the Asian Studies Program in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. From 2009 to 2014, Dr. Jackson held positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as an Advisor for Asia-Pacific Strategy, Senior Country Director for Korea, and Working Group Chair of the U.S.–Republic of Korea Extended Deterrence Policy Committee.

During his time in OSD, Dr. Jackson’s responsibilities ranged from long-range strategy and policy planning and studies of military innovation to crisis management and direct negotiations with numerous Asian government ministries. He was a contributor to the 2013 Strategic Choices Management Review, the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, and OSD’s implementation of the U.S. policy of rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific. From 2009 to 2012, Dr. Jackson advised the White House and Secretary of Defense on crisis management and strategic courses of action through two Korean Peninsula crises, represented the Department in direct negotiations with North Korea addressing its nuclear program, and helped establish the first extended deterrence consultation mechanisms with South Korea and Japan. He is the recipient of multiple awards in OSD, including the Exceptional Civilian Service Medal.

Complementing his work in strategy and foreign policy, Dr. Jackson teaches courses on Asian security, Korea-Japan relations, and grand strategy at Georgetown University and the Catholic University of America, and is a rotating lecturer in the Naval Postgraduate School’s Regional Security Education Program. He has additionally delivered guest lectures at a number of schools nationally, including the U.S. National War College, U.S. Naval War College, and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. From 2011 to 2013, Dr. Jackson was also a nonresident James A. Kelly Fellow in Korean Studies with the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His research has appeared in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Asian Security, Comparative Strategy, Contemporary Security Policy, and Far Eastern Economic Review, and he is the author of a forthcoming manuscript on U.S.-North Korea relations. He holds a PhD in world politics from the Catholic University of America and was formerly selected as one of the “Top 99 under 33” foreign policy leaders by Diplomatic Courier magazine. Dr. Jackson started his career in the U.S. Air Force as a Korean Linguist and Intelligence Analyst.

Speech Topics

Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula

Is it possible to prevent North Korea from using nuclear or chemical weapons? What about lower levels of violence, so-called "provocations?" The Korean Peninsula is rife with complex security demands rooted in two basic problems: enduring contestation about which Korea is the legitimate Korea, and an irreducible conflict of interest over North Korea's nuclear program. In this presentation at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, Dr. Van Jackson explains how deterrence works on the Korean Peninsula today, addressing the challenges of credibility, escalation control, and how nuclear weapons affect calculations of violence.

East Asia's Historial Memory Gap: Implications for Geopolitics

How does remembrance of Japan's colonial era affect contemporary geopolitics? As the U.S. pursues its policy of "rebalancing" to Asia, cooperation among its allies and partners is crucial for sustaining not only U.S. influence, but regional stability as well. In this talk, Dr. Van Jackson explains that Japan's failure to reconcile with its past, combined with the domestic politicization of history in China and South Korea, risks creating an entirely new regional alignment in Northeast Asia.

Assessing North Korea's Alternative Futures

Does Kim Jong-un really run North Korea? How long can he stay in power? What is likely to precipitate political change in North Korea, and what will different types of political change mean for regional stability? This presentation at the Center for Strategic & International Studies surveys the "most likely" alternative futures North Korea faces, and considers what that means for South Korea, the future of its alliances with the United States, and implications for nuclear proliferation.

The New Logic of Asian Security

The trend of strategic hedging is pervasive in Asia, and this presentation at the National Bureau of Asian Research explains why. Asian states look to the United States for security, yet prioritize its economic relationship with China over others. Military modernization and arms racing is pervasive, yet there are almost no declared adversaries in the region. And there is little appetite for either rules-based institutions or new alliances. All this points to hedging, driven by the growing complexity of the Asian security landscape and the uncertainty facing decision-makers about a future regional order.

The U.S.-Korea Alliance: Moving into the 21st Century

The Cold War is over. South Korea has become an advanced industrial economy with a modern military, while North Korea's military is increasingly decrepit. Why is the U.S. alliance with South Korea still necessary? This presentation to the U.S. Naval War College places the U.S.-Korea alliance in the context of Asia's contemporary security environment, arguing that while regional circumstances have changed, the U.S.-Korea alliance is more necessary to regional security than at any point in the last 25 years.

Attack of the Drones: Preparing for the Newest Type of Provocations

On several occasions since 2013, crashed North Korean drones have been discovered in strategically significant areas in South Korea. Do North Korean drones represent a threat to Korean security? How is North Korea likely to use drones against South Korea and why? In this presentation at the Korea Economic Institute of America, Dr. Jackson presents the first framework for answering these questions and more relating to North Korean drones and Korean Peninsula strategy.

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