Leif-Eric Easley is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University's Department of Government. His dissertation explores theoretical ties among national identity, bilateral trust and security cooperation with empirical focus on Japan, South Korea and China. Leif completed his BA in Political Science with a minor in mathematics at UCLA where he graduated summa cum laude and senior of the year with a thesis on Theater Missile Defense in East Asia. Leif is a long-time affiliate of the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) and was Japan area editor for the Harvard Asia Quarterly. He has served as a teaching fellow for Asian International Relations and American Foreign Policy. Leif also worked with security specialists at policy research institutes in Los Angeles (RAND) and Washington (Henry L. Stimson Center) and has participated in, organized and presented at numerous international conferences. He is actively involved in Track II diplomacy as a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Pacific Forum "Young Leader." Leif recently completed dissertation fieldwork in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, and is a Visiting Scholar at the UCLA Department of Political Science.

"the dissertation is a journey..."