Experts

Brantly Womack

Fast Facts

  • Retired C.K. Yen Chair at the Miller Center
  • Received China Friendship Award for his work with Chinese universities
  • Expertise on China, Southeast Asia, Pacific Asia

 

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • Asia
  • Economic Issues
  • Trade

Brantly Womack is a faculty senior fellow at the Miller Center and professor emeritus of foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. He received his BA degree in politics and philosophy from the University of Dallas, and after a Fulbright in philosophy at the University of Munich, earned his PhD in political science from the University of Chicago. 

Womack is the author of Recentering Pacific Asia (Cambridge University Press 2023), Asymmetry and International Relationships (Cambridge University Press 2016), China Among Unequals: Asymmetric International Relationships in Asia (World Scientific Press 2010), and China and Vietnam: The Politics of Asymmetry (Cambridge University Press 2006), as well as more than 100 articles and book chapters.

His co-edited book, Rethinking the Triangle: Washington-Beijing-Taipei (World Scientific Press 2016), was the product of a series of five international conferences that began at the Miller Center. He edited China’s Rise in Historical Perspective (Rowman and Littlefield 2010), the product of a lecture series at the Miller Center, and Contemporary Chinese Politics in Historical Perspective (Cambridge 1991). In 2011, Womack received the China Friendship Award for his work with Chinese universities. He holds honorary positions at Jilin University, East China Normal University, and Zhongshan (Sun Yat-Sen) University. 

Brantly Womack News Feed

“This rivalry between us and China has emerged and grown accepted by both sides over the last couple of years, and not just from Trump. Remember, President Joe Biden continued most of the attitude and policies of the first Trump administration toward China.”
Brantly Womack, Aynne Kokas UVA Today
The second Trump administration has ushered in a new era of rivalry in U.S.–China competition. This era has been characterized by volatile discussions about tariffs, broader trade issues, and changing global alliances. Panelists discuss the future of this critical and dynamic relationship made up of the world’s two largest economies.
Brantly Womack, Aynne Kokas Miller Center Presents
As Allan Stam’s excellent analysis suggests, the secret to understanding the blur and noise of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy actions is not to try to piece them together in a coherent strategy, but rather as a roving and hyperactive pursuit of high-profile deals. Trump is the first to claim that he is good at this, and his trophy moments are indeed impressive. But what happens next is not so clear.
Brantly Womack Notes from the Miller Center
Professor Brantly Womack breaks down the global implications of a second Trump term, including U.S.-China relations, shifting alliances, and the uncertain future of the world order.
Brantly Womack The China Academy
Secretary of State Marco Rubio's vision of American foreign policy is transactional, not isolationist, writes Brantly Womack.
Brantly Womack The Hill
As the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, Miller Center faculty and senior fellows discuss President Trump’s foreign policy and national security promises, with a particular focus on Ukraine, China, and the Middle East.
Allan C. Stam, Stephen D. Mull, Brantly Womack, Dale Copeland, Jeffrey W. Legro, John M. Owen IV, Mara Rudman, Scott Miller, and William J. Antholis Miller Center Presents