Raymond Wang

He was a PhD candidate in Political Science at MIT. His research examines the strategies and tools rising powers use to shape international order, with a focus on the rise of China. He explores this question through three research streams. The first examines how China shapes international order by commandeering existing rules, rather than overturning them or building alternative institutions. The second examines the drivers and effectiveness of China’s economic statecraft, which Beijing has increasingly wielded to further its goals. The final stream studies how China sustains its capability for competition through indigenous technological development, especially those with military applications. In his spare time, he enjoy karaoke and trying out new recipes, and harbor dreams of opening a Chinese restaurant one day.

He will be teaching a course and physically in NYC as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program, an affiliate at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and an affiliate at the International Security Program at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School from AY2025-26. 

During his fellowship at Columbia University he will, among other activities and research, transition his dissertation into a book manuscript. He dissertation 'How Rising Powers Shape International Order' will be expanded via analyzing historical cases of rising powers, specifically Japan during the interwar period and the 1980s. The interwar period presents a hard case for my theory, as rising militarism in Japan could have led it to abandon the ‘cautious’ assumption of the theory. In the 1980s, Japan and the US experienced similar economic tensions as China and the US do today, thus enabling a comparative analysis. Analyzing Japanese behavior during these periods allows me to test the theory against cases beyond China and leverage richer archival resources.

Starting Fall 2026, He will be an Assistant Professor in International Relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University.

Before MIT, he worked in the financial crimes risk strategy division of an international bank in Hong Kong. He graduated with first class honors from the University of St Andrews, where he read International Relations and Modern History. He also holds an MA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

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