Dr. Bart Gaens is a Leading Researcher in the Global Security Research Programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. From May 2021 to April 2023, he leads a project on connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region. He also holds the title of Docent at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki.
In the past he has worked as Project Director for the Center on US Politics and Power (CUSPP), as Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Helsinki, and as Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Osaka University, Japan.
He has published widely on Europe-Asia inter-regionalism and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process, Japan’s foreign policy and regional role, India’s foreign policy and relations with the EU, domestic politics in Myanmar, and security-related issues in the Indo-Pacific region. He has also (co)edited volumes and reports on connectivity, EU-Asia relations, the US-China rivalry, transatlantic relations, and Japan’s search for strategic partnerships.
Honorary title
Docent, University of Helsinki
Expertise
Japanese studies (area studies), Japan in the Asian regional context, major power relations in East Asia, EU-Asia relations, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Asia-Europe connectivity
Degrees
PhD, Graduate University for Advanced Studies ( Japan)
Language skills
English, Dutch, Japanese (working languages), German, French, Finnish (receptive skills)
Projects
America’s changing global role and its impacts on transatlantic relations
Superregionalism and Contentious Connectivity in Asia