About
Nicole Smolinske is a PhD student in International Relations at LSE. Her research interests include international security, great power competition, alignment and hedging, international hierarchy, and the foreign policy strategies of small and middle powers under conditions of geopolitical uncertainty and transition, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia.
Prior to beginning her PhD, Nicole spent more than a decade working on Southeast Asian political and security affairs in the US government and policy research organisations. She most recently served as Director for Southeast Asia on the National Security Council at the White House, where she supported the development and implementation of US policy toward the region and advised senior officials on regional geopolitical dynamics. She previously served as a foreign affairs officer at the US Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, directing US objectives in the Mekong sub-region and managing a whole-of-government coordination mechanism and foreign assistance portfolio. She also served at the US Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta and the US Embassy in Tokyo. Earlier in her career, she was a Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and currently maintains an affiliation with NBR as a non-resident fellow.
Nicole’s research is informed by her professional experience engaging with governments, policymakers, and regional stakeholders across Southeast Asia. She holds an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Michigan, where her thesis examined Shan migrants’ perceptions of access to rights and bureaucratic processes. She is a recipient of the David L Boren National Security Fellowship for Thai language study. She received three BAs in Political Science, Philosophy, and Asian Studies, respectively, from Washington State University and was a graduate of the Honors College.
Research topic
Managing Alignment Ambiguity: Hedging in Southeast Asia
Academic supervisor
Research cluster affiliation
Security and Statecraft research cluster
Expertise
Research interests include international security, great power competition, alignment and hedging, international hierarchy, and the foreign policy strategies of small and middle powers under conditions of geopolitical uncertainty and transition, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia.