PWG (Pieter) Zhao

Biography

Pieter W.G. Zhao is a PhD candidate and junior lecturer at the Department of History at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His doctoral research is funded by the NWO's PhD in the Humanities Competition (2024), which aims to boost the recruitment and advancement of research talent in the Humanities. His research project explores how nonmilitary and irregular actors have shaped maritime warfare and security throughout history, and how historical perspectives can inform contemporary debates on maritime security and strategy (supervised by Prof. Dr. Ralf Futselaar, Dr. Sarah Bertrand, and Dr. Mark Hay).

He is currently a Visiting PhD Fellow at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, hosted by Prof. Christopher Kinsey and the Forum for Private Security Research.

Pieter holds a BA and an MA (cum laude) in History from Erasmus University Rotterdam, where he specialised in the history of international relations and maritime history. He also holds a second Master’s degree in International Security from the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po, with concentrations in Strategic Studies, Asian Studies, and Intelligence Studies. During his studies at Sciences Po, he completed part of his coursework at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, focusing on US–China relations, maritime security, and nuclear proliferation.

Alongside his academic research, Pieter has been involved in policy-oriented and practitioner-facing initiatives. He has served as a Nonresident Fellow at the Irregular Warfare Initiative and participated in the Maritime Leaders’ Programme at the Council on Geostrategy, where he engaged with scholars and practitioners on contemporary issues in maritime strategy and security.

His research interests include international security and geopolitics, with a particular focus on the maritime domain and the Indo-Pacific region. His work has been published in the Naval War College Review, Comparative Strategy, the European Journal of East Asian Studies, Small Wars Journal, Militaire Spectator (Netherlands Journal of War Studies), and The Strategy Bridge. In addition, he has provided historical and strategic commentary for Dutch news and radio outlets, including NOS and BNR Nieuwsradio.

Pieter’s approach to the study of history is grounded in the conviction that a rigorous understanding of the past is essential for making sense of contemporary security challenges and for informing how states, institutions, and societies respond to them.