International History · Strategy
Xudong Zhu
PhD Candidate in International History at the University of Aberdeen. My research examines statecraft, grand strategy, and great-power competition, and what historical cases can teach policymakers today.
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9929-868XSelected Writing
- LSE USAPP The Washington Summit Shows That US–China Relations Require a Firmer Foundation than the Relationship between Its Two Leaders
- US–China Perception Monitor Improving U.S.–China Relations: Ten Thousand Years Is Too Long; Seize the Day
- Routledge Book chapter, 2026 How to Maintain a Balance in the Intricate Pas de Trois among China, US and EU
- Jimmy Carter Prize Runner-up, 2025 Trump as the (In)advertent Harbinger of a New Transatlantic Security Architecture: Europe’s Autonomy as a Bulwark Against Chinese Influence
Research
My doctoral thesis is Strategy-Making in a Fragmented State: Security Policy, Defence Policy, and Grand Strategy in Sino-German Cooperation (1928–1938), supervised by Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber and Dr. Andrew Dilley. I am also writing Das politische System Chinas with Dr. Björn Alexander Düben, under contract with Nomos.
Applied History & Statecraft
- Statecraft and grand-strategy frameworks applied to current geopolitical questions.
- Comparative Realpolitik: power, interests, and constraints across cases.
Global Security & Governance
- Great-power competition, including U.S.–China and transatlantic relations.
- International institutions and legal frameworks.
Education
-
PhD in International History
University of Aberdeen, UK · in progress -
MA in American Studies
Heidelberg University, DE -
LLB in Diplomacy
Jilin University, CN
Memberships
- Postgraduate Member, Royal Historical Society
- Member, Association of Chinese Political Studies
Languages
- Mandarin (native)
- English (fluent)
- German (fluent)
