Elsa B. Kania is an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Center for a New American Security's Technology and National Security Program and a 2025 fellow with the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations. Dr. Kania received her MA and PhD in Political Science from Harvard University’s Department of Government, and she is also a graduate of Harvard College (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). Her research focuses on China’s military strategy, command capabilities, defense innovation, and emerging technological developments, as well as cross-Strait security and deterrence challenges. Dr. Kania serves as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. She maintains working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Her views are her own.
Dr. Kania has been invited to testify before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and the National Commission on Service. She was a Fulbright Specialist in Australia and named an official “Mad Scientist” by the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. Her writings and commentary have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico, and Defense One, among others, and her academic research has been published in The Journal of Strategic Studies and The Cyber Defense Review. She has been quoted in outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and The Economist.
Dr. Kania has extensive analytical experience and has engaged with a range of research institutions on issues including China’s military-civil fusion strategy, military learning, innovation strategies, and defense technology competition. At Harvard, she initially worked as a research assistant through the Belfer Center and Weatherhead Center, and she was a Boren Scholar in Beijing. She has been a Visiting Scholar, DKI Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies; Associate, US Air Force China Aerospace Studies Institute; Non-Resident Fellow, Institute for the Study of War; Visiting Scholar, Taiwan Center for Security Studies; Visiting Fellow, Military Transformations Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; Non-Resident Fellow, International Cyber Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute; and Research Fellow, Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Job title:
Adjunct Senior Fellow, Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security.
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