What's Next for Taiwan: New Diplomatic, Economic, and Security Dynamics

Since the outset of 2025, Taiwan has entered a critical period of domestic political upheaval and geostrategic recalibration. From growing concerns regarding cross-Strait military activity amidst large-scale Chinese exercises, to increased uncertainty about U.S. trade ties and political support, to deeply contentious domestic politics and constitutional issues, Taiwan is presently navigating numerous challenging policy positions and international trends. What are the most pressing issues for the United States and Taiwan to navigate in the near-term to safeguard stable and productive political, economic, and security relations?

To address this pertinent topic, the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University and the Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS) at UC Berkeley are bringing together a panel of scholars from the U.S.-Taiwan Next Generation Working Group to examine the most urgent priorities facing Taiwan over the next three to six months, with a focus on policy credibility and consistency, political psychology, civil-military strains, and people-to-people ties.

The U.S.-Taiwan Next Generation Working Group, administered by IEAS with generous support from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in San Francisco, is an in-depth training program for scholars and policymakers with an interest in U.S.-Taiwan relations. The program aims to identify, nurture, and build a community of American public policy intellectuals across a wide range of sectors and facilitate policy-oriented research teams and projects. In all, it will contribute to the understanding of Taiwanese points of view in international venues through facilitating deeper dialogue and vigorous research.

Please join the Sigur Center and IEAS for this timely discussion with a group of multidisciplinary experts from the Working Group to identify, evaluate, and discuss near-term priorities for U.S.-Taiwan relations!

Panel Speakers

• “Policy Credibility and Consistency,” Raymond Kuo, Director of the Taiwan Policy Initiative and Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
• “The Political Psychology of U.S.-Taiwan Relations,” Rosalie Chen, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dominican University of California
• "Confidence in Crisis: How U.S. Civil-Military Strain Shapes Taiwan’s Strategic Outlook," Gary Sampson, Independent National Security Strategist
• "The Importance of People-to-People Ties and Diplomatic Engagement in U.S.-Taiwan Relations," Adrienne Chih-fang Wu, Program Manager, Global Taiwan Institute
• Moderator: Richard J. Haddock, Assistant Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies; Co-Director, Taiwan Education & Research Program

Speakers

Dr. Raymond Kuo is the inaugural Director of the Taiwan Policy Initiative and a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. He specializes in international security, international order, and East Asia. He is the author of two books, and his work has been published in International Security, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and War on the Rocks. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and has previously worked for Fordham University, the United Nations, the National Democratic Institute, and the Democratic Progressive Party (Taiwan).

Professor Rosalie Chen is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Dominican University of California. Her research interests are interdisciplinary in nature and lie at the intersection of social psychology, political science, and culture. She studies ideology in the East Asian cultural context, the national identity issue in cross-strait relations, and the role of culture-specific emotions at the group level in motivating international conflict. She is particularly interested in exploring international relations from the angles of political psychology and culture.

Growing up in North Africa, East Asia, and North America enabled Prof. Chen to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cemented an early interest in culture and international relations. She is dedicated to contributing to knowledge that enhances cross-cultural understanding and addresses the causes of international conflict. Her overarching research goal is to contribute to the understanding of international conflict by elucidating how ideology, identity, and emotion motivate political perception, attitudes, and behavior.

Previously, Prof. Chen taught at Colgate University before joining DUC. She received her B.S. from Truman State University, M.A. from George Washington University, and Ph.D. from National Taiwan University.

Dr. Gary J. Sampson is an independent national security strategist and recently retired U.S. Marine Corps intelligence and international affairs officer. He specializes in East Asian security, alliance politics, and U.S.-China dynamics. His work has been published by Studies in Intelligence, Military Review, The Strategy Bridge, and CSIS. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from Tufts University’s Fletcher School and studied in Taiwan as an Olmsted Scholar at National Sun Yat-sen University. He previously held policy roles on the Joint Staff, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and at Headquarters Marine Corps.

Adrienne Chih-fang Wu is a program manager at the Global Taiwan Institute and the host and producer of Taiwan Salon, GTI’s cultural policy and soft power podcast. She is a member of the UC Berkeley US-Taiwan Next Generation Working Group and a member of the Foreign Policy for America’s Next Gen Initiative. Additionally, she was a 2024 Taiwan-US Policy Program Delegate. Previously a Taiwan Delegate for Strait Talk 2023 at George Washington University, she is currently a Strait Talk facilitator-in-training. Before joining GTI, she graduated from Ritsumeikan University and Kyunghee University with a Dual Master’s Degree in International Relations. She spent seven years living in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan—including three years of teaching English in Japan and Taiwan and a year of study at Waseda University while pursuing her BA in Honors East Asian Studies from McGill University.

Moderator

Richard J. Haddock is the Assistant Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University, where he leads the Center’s robust Taiwan affairs programming, outreach, and curriculum development. He is also a member of the UC Berkeley U.S.-Taiwan Next Generation Working Group, where his research focuses on U.S.-Taiwan education diplomacy and exchange. Previously, he has held positions at the GW East Asia National Resource Center, the National Democratic Institute’s Asia team, the American Institute in Taiwan’s Public Diplomacy Section, and the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Haddock is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration at The George Washington University, focusing on digital democracy and e-governance development in the Asia-Pacific. He holds an MA in Asian Studies from the Elliott School, with a concentration on domestic politics and foreign policy of East Asia. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Political Science and minors in Asian Studies and Diplomacy.