Asscoiate Professor of Modern Chinese History, University of Miami
Geopolitical & Geoeconomic Risk | China & East Asia
Professor of Modern Chinese History · International Relations · Political Economy
Understand Risk Before It Becomes a Crisis.
We need to understand the past to interpret the present and prepare for the future. This principle shapes my approach to policy analysis, geopolitical and geoeconomic risk forecasting, and scenario planning. I provide boutique consulting services focused on the Asia-Pacific, bringing 16 years
of experience in the academe and in international affairs to work with the private sector, government agencies, and NGOs.
My expertise centers on Chinese statecraft and grand strategy, East Asian political economy, comparative economic development, and U.S. foreign policy. I combine historical perspectives with insights from IR theory and institutional economics to help clients understand emerging risks, identify opportunities, and formulate policy options.
I hold a PhD in International History from the University of Chicago, with a specialization in China, as well as master's degrees in international relations from the University of Chicago and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Before entering academia, I was a researcher at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Past clients include US government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and business executives, for example at an energy hedge fund.
HISTORY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS POLITICAL ECONOMY
China | East Asia | Great Power Competition
Trade | Investment | Supply Chains
Scenarios | Modeling
Strategy | Foreign Policy
Geopolitics | Institutions
Trade | Investment |Supply Chains
China | East Asia | Indo-Pacific
Competition | Grand Strategy
Scenarios | Probabilities | Contingencies
CORPORATE EDUCATION
Understand the business environment behind the headlines.
I offer customized corporate education and executive training focused on China, East Asia, and the global economic environment. These programs prepare executives and professionals to understand the challenges of doing business in East Asia, including market entry strategies, corporate governance, and cultural-political navigation.
Past clients have commissioned programs on doing business in China, comparative economic development, the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean economies, and the history and development of the international monetary system. Topics might also include East Asian companies and consumer markets, state-owned enterprises in China, and business, political, and cultural relations across the Taiwan Strait. I tailor instruction to a company's objectives, industry, and level of expertise—from focused executive briefings to
longer-form seminars and professional development programs. I can offer both remote and in-person training in the United States, Western Europe, and Northeast Asia on request.
China | East Asia | Political Economy
CLIENTS & AUDIENCES
Business | Investment & Risk Professionals | Government | Executives & Boards | NGOS
Selected Work
History informs. Analysis anticipates.
My work spans policy analysis, public-facing scholarship, and academic research. These samples illustrate how I translate historical knowledge, institutional economics, and IR theory into insights for policy-makers, business leaders, and broader audiences.
Policy Study
History as Prologue: Fiscal Crises in China Past, Present, and Future
This policy study argues that historical case studies reveal a clear pattern of Chinese behavior that recurred time and again duing past fiscal crises. These policy responses assumed a statist, mercantilist, and, in the modern era, an increasingly nationalist form. If the standard "technical" instruments of macroeconomic policy prove ineffective, the PRC will struggle to contain the downstream political repercussion of a fiscal crisis.
Public- Facing Scholarship
A Crab's Eye View of the Food China in Contemporary China
This public-facing article written for the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany, examines the problem of invasive species in China's inland waters. It explains the concept of "invasiveness" to a broad audience and traces the ways that local environmental problems can quickly become global in scope.
Academic Research
European Imperialism and the Making of Chinese Statecraft
Published by Harvard University Press, my book examines the conceptual foundations of modern Chinese statecraft, tracing its origins to great power competition in East Asia in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I argue that this cluster of new ideas such as as sovereignty, rights, and commercial warfare has guided development and state-building projects in China up until the present.
HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT ASIA?
Discuss a consulting, research, or corporate education project.
CONTACT STEPHEN
EMAIL s.halsey@miami.edu
PHONE +1.305.284.4151
MAILING ADDRESS Dr. Stephen Halsey
University of Miami
Department of History
1252 Memorial Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33146
United States