Elsa B. Kania

Elsa B. Kania is a PhD candidate in Harvard University's Department of Government. Her research focuses on China's military strategy, defense innovation, and emerging technologies. She is currently a Visiting Scholar with the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Ms. Kania serves as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve; her recent reserve and active-duty assignments have included orders supporting Task Force 59, Naval Forces Central Command; U.S. Pacific Fleet; and Indo-Pacific Command. She maintains working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Her views are her own.

Ms. 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.

Ms. Kania has extensive analytical experience and has engaged with a range of institutions on issues including China's military-civil fusion strategy, military learning, innovation capabilities, and defense technology competition. Her previous positions include as an 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.

Ms. Kania is also a graduate of Harvard College (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and received a Master of Arts in Government from Harvard University. At Harvard, she worked as a research assistant through the Belfer Center and Weatherhead Center, and she was a Boren Scholar and intern with the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing.