Daniel M. Kliman is a Senior Fellow and Director of the the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). He is an expert in Asia-Pacific strategy, with a particular focus on U.S. competition with China. Before joining CNAS, Kliman worked in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, where he served as Senior Advisor for Asia Integration.

Prior to his time at the DoD, Kliman worked at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), first as a Transatlantic Fellow, and then as a Senior Advisor with the Asia Program. At GMF, Kliman launched a new line of research on emerging powers. He also created the Young Strategists Forum, a program to educate emerging leaders from the United States, Japan, and other major democracies about geopolitical competition in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kliman has authored two books, Fateful Transitions: How Democracies Manage Rising Powers, from the Eve of World War I to China’s Ascendance, and Japan’s Security Strategy in the Post-9/11 World: Embracing a New Realpolitik. He has also published in prominent outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Foreign Policy, and CNN.

Kliman received a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.

Last Updated: August 19, 2019

Conversation

08.20.19

What Would a Larger Chinese Presence Mean for the Middle East?

Lindsey Ford, Daniel Kliman & more
China’s steady expansion of its Middle East footprint and influence poses significant questions for U.S. policymakers. The Middle East has long been a battleground for strategic competition between both regional and global powers. Is it poised to...

Excerpts

01.20.15

China’s Losing Bet Against History

Daniel Kliman
In 1991, Deng Xiaoping famously explained that in order to reassure the world of its peaceful intentions, China should “cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership...

Conversation

05.09.14

The China-Vietnam Standoff: How Will It End?

Daniel Kliman, Ely Ratner & more
Daniel Kliman:Five thousand miles from Ukraine, off the coast of Vietnam, China is taking a page from Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s playbook. Beijing’s recent placement of a huge oil drilling rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea leverages...