Siddharth Mohandas Joins CSIS as Non-Resident Senior Associate with Asia Program

Press Release - April 18, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC - April 18, 2024 - The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) today announced that former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia Dr. Siddharth Mohandas has joined CSIS as a non-resident senior associate with the Asia Program.

Dr. Mohandas brings more than two decades of experience as a leading policymaker and analyst of Asian security and geopolitics. He is currently a director at Lazard Geopolitical Advisory, where he advises clients on geopolitical issues impacting business. His expertise and understanding of dynamics in the Indo-Pacific will be instrumental as the CSIS Asia Program conducts research and analysis across the region.

"We are proud to announce that Dr. Mohandas will join our community of scholars at the CSIS Asia Program. His experience with U.S. policy in the region is expansive, and he is one of the most respected Asia policy experts in Washington, D.C. We look forward to his participation in our programs, research projects, and conferences," said Dr. Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair.

From 2021 to 2023, Dr. Mohandas served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia. During his tenure, the United States made historic advances in defense relations with key allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, including the most significant enhancements of U.S. force posture in Japan and Australia in decades, securing the landmark Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) agreement, and establishing major new efforts to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence commitments to the Republic of Korea. He also served as principal deputy director of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff during the Obama administration.

In the private sector, Dr. Mohandas was director of research and a principal at the Asia Group and served as an editor at Foreign Affairs magazine. He has held research fellowships at the Brookings Institution, the Center for a New American Security, and the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University. He has written for multiple publications, including Foreign Affairs, the National Interest, and the American Prospect.

Dr. Mohandas added, "The CSIS Asia Program is widely recognized for the quality and insight of its analysis. At an important time in the trajectory of geopolitics in the region, I am thrilled to be joining and contributing to the CSIS team."

The CSIS Asia Program provides in-depth policy analysis and insights on the drivers of economic, political, and security dynamics in China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, and Southeast Asia. To learn more and read recent analysis by the CSIS Asia Program, visit here.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world's greatest challenges.