I am an interdisciplinary scholar of international relations, specialising in U.S.–China relations, strategic studies, and political psychology. My research examines how political leaders and their advisors make decisions under pressure, particularly in times of crisis, uncertainty, and strategic competition. I hold a PhD in International Relations from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

In the high-stakes world of war judgment and decision-making, one might expect political leaders to meticulously weigh every piece of advice before making decisions that could alter the fate of their country. Surprisingly, the opposite often happens: leaders ignore broad counsel in favor of a few trusted voices, seeking advice from a small circle of advisors instead of casting a wider net for advice. Why? My dissertation, The Confidence Trap: How Leaders and Advisors Assess the Credibility of Military Threats, flips the conventional wisdom on its head. I formulate and put to the test the Confidence Trap Theory (CTT), which reveals how the very confidence that empowers leaders can actually trap them into dysfunctional patterns of advice seeking and decision-making.

I am currently serving as a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow in Grand Strategy at the Notre Dame International Security Center (University of Notre Dame). Previously, I was a Visiting PhD Research Candidate at the Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University (Taipei), as well as a Visiting PhD Candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle).