William Norris

William Norris received his Ph.D in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a Fellow, he worked on a book manuscript based on his dissertation entitled "Economic Statecraft: the Use of Commercial Actors in China's Grand Strategy." This work builds a middle-range theory of economic statecraft that provides both a micro-level theory explaining how states use firms to pursue their strategic goals as well as a macro-level theory explaining the conditions under which economic statecraft is likely to succeed.

His broad research interests include East Asian security, business-government relations, Chinese foreign and security policy, and international relations theory—particularly the strategic relationship between economics and national security. His recent work focuses on the use of commercial sector actors to achieve national foreign policy objectives in the context of Chinese grand strategy.

Dr. Norris received an A.B. from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1999, and has spent significant time abroad studying Chinese and economics. Dr. William Norris is currently an assistant professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University where he teaches graduate-level courses in Chinese domestic politics, East Asian security, and Chinese foreign policy.