Jonathan Spangler

Jonathan Spangler is the Director of the South China Sea Think Tank and Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Policy Research Association. He received his PhD in Asia-Pacific studies from National Chengchi University in February 2018. His primary research interests include Asia-Pacific regional security, maritime territorial disputes, and cross-strait relations, with an emphasis on the effects of different actors’ foreign policies on regional trends and volatility.

He is also an avid trail runner and mountaineer and has received certifications in mountain search and rescue and wilderness survival. In all of his work and activities, he remains committed to inclusion of diverse perspectives and aims to make a positive and lasting impact on society.

Raised in Boulder, Colorado, he has lived and worked in six countries in North America, Latin America, and East Asia, including the past eight years in Taiwan.