Dr. Zachary Abuza is a Professor at the National War College, in Washington, DC, where he focuses on Southeast Asian politics and security issues, including governance, insurgencies, democratization and human rights, civil-military relations, and maritime security. He is the author of six books, including, Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Processes, and Reconciliation (2016), Conspiracy of Silence: The Insurgency in Southern Thailand (2008), Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia (2006), Militant Islam in Southeast Asia (2003), and Renovating Politics in Contemporary Vietnam (2001). He authored the Southeast Asian chapter in the acclaimed study, Leaving Terrorism Behind, as well as the National Endowment for Democracy’s 2015 report on the media and civil society in Vietnam. His latest book, The Vietnam People’s Army: From People’s Warfare to Military Modernization? (2025) examines the dilemmas of modernization for a party-army, steeped in people’s war tradition. In addition, he has authored four monographs on security issues in Southeast Asia.
Since 2017 he has been a columnist for Benar News and Radio Free Asia. He has authored a number of studies on Myanmar’s spring revolution for the Stimson Center. He is a frequent commentator in the media and has traveled extensively throughout the region. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service. He has twice served as a Congressional witness. In 2004-05, he was a Senior Fellow at the US Institute of Peace and a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship. He received his B.A. from Trinity College (1991), and M.A.L.D. (1994) and Ph.D. (1998) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is an avid cyclist, sea kayaker, and back country skier. The father of twins, he's totally into character building. He's an accomplished cabinet maker.
FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE: Security, Governance, Rule of Law, Human Rights, civil-military relations, Terrorism, Insurgency, Peace Processes, and Maritime Security
REGIONAL EXPERTISE: Southeast Asia and China
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