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James Kim

Assistant Professor, International AffairsThe Bush School of Government & Public Service
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Biography

James Dongjin Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Affairs at Texas A&M University’s Bush School DC. He was previously an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, where he was also affiliated with the Center for Korea Studies, and a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the MIT Security Studies Program. He was selected as a CSIS-USC NextGen Scholar in 2024–2025.

His research focuses on international security and conflict, with an emphasis on the political consequences of exposure to violence. His current book project examines how childhood exposure to war shapes foreign policy attitudes later in life. His broader research interests include nuclear proliferation, military service and foreign policy attitudes, leader backgrounds and foreign policy decision making, and high-level diplomacy. Part of his research received the 2024 Patricia Weitsman Award from the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association. His articles have been published in the Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, International Studies Perspectives, Foreign Policy Analysis, Social Science Quarterly, and Presidential Studies Quarterly. He has also written policy commentary on nuclear deterrence and proliferation on the Korean Peninsula for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and NK News.

Dr. Kim has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on international relations, international security, American foreign policy, and East Asian international relations. At the Bush School, he teaches courses on the theory and practice of international politics, East Asian security, and nuclear politics in East Asia.

Dr. Kim received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Texas A&M University in 2023. He received his M.A. in International Relations from Tsinghua University in China and his B.A. in Political Science and Diplomacy from Yonsei University in South Korea.