Professor Kristi Govella

Research Interests

Research Disciplines:

  • Political Science
  • International Relations
  • Political Economy
  • Politics
  • Comparative Politics
  • Diplomacy

Research Keywords:

  • Foreign policy
  • Economics
  • Security
  • Governance
  • Economic statecraft
  • Government-business relations
  • Regional institutional architecture
  • Military alliances
  • Global commons
  • Maritime security
  • Cybersecurity
  • Outer space

Countries:

  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • China
  • Indo-Pacific

Research Cluster:

 

Contact Information
CV and publications

Books

  • Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella, eds. 2013. Linking Trade and Security: Evolving Institutions and Strategies in Asia, Europe, and the United States. New York: Springer.
  • Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella, eds. 2012. Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States. New York: Springer.

Articles

  • Kristi Govella. 2025. “Undersea Cables, Geoeconomics, and Security in the Indo-Pacific: Risks and Resilience.” Marine Policy.
  • Kristi Govella. 2025. “South Korea’s Engagement in Asian Regional Outer Space Institutions: Economics, Security, and Institutional Design.” Asian Security. https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2025.2483181
  • Kristi Govella. 2025. “U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Engagement on Economic Security: Disentangling Resilience, Competitiveness, and Protection.” Asia Policy 20(1): 28–32.
  • Kristi Govella. 2023. “Avoiding and Exploiting the Tragedy of the Commons: Fishing, Crime, and Conflict in the South China Sea.” International Politics 60: 1294–1314.
  • Kristi Govella. 2021. “China’s Challenge to the Global Commons: Compliance, Contestation, and Subversion in the Maritime and Cyber Domains.” International Relations 35(3): 446–68.
  • Kristi Govella. 2021. “The Adaptation of Japanese Economic Statecraft: Trade, Aid and Technology.” World Trade Review 20(2): 186–202.
  • Kristi Govella. 2019. “Technology and Tensions in the Global Commons.” Fletcher Security Review 6(1): 38–44.
  • Kristi Govella and Steven Vogel. 2008. “Japan in 2007: A Divided Government.” Asian Survey 48(1): 97–106

Book chapters

  • Kristi Govella. 2023. “The Role of the United Nations in Japanese Foreign Policy and Security Architecture.” In The United Nations, Indo-Pacific and Korean Peninsula: An Emerging Security Architecture, eds. Shin-wha Lee and Jagannath Panda. New York: Routledge: 67–85.
  • Kristi Govella. 2023. “From Trade Laggard to Trade Leader: Japan’s Role in Countering the Backlash Against Globalization.” In Non-Western Nations and the Liberal International Order: Responding to the Backlash in the West, eds. Hiro Katsumata and Hiroki Kusano. New York: Routledge: 71–94.
  • Kristi Govella. 2022. “Economic Rivals, Security Allies: The US-Japan Trade War.” In Research Handbook on Trade Wars, eds. Ka Zeng and Wei Liang. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar: 209–29.
  • Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella. 2013. “The Trade-Security Nexus in the Asia-Pacific.” In Linking Trade and Security: Evolving Institutions and Strategies in Asia, Europe, and the United States, eds. Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella. New York: Springer: 1–22.
  • Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella. 2013. “Trade Linkages to Traditional and Non-Traditional Security: Lessons and Prospects.” In Linking Trade and Security: Evolving Institutions and Strategies in Asia, Europe, and the United States, eds. Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella. New York: Springer: 223–44.
  • Kristi Govella and Vinod Aggarwal. 2012. “Introduction: The Fall of the Soviet Union and the Resurgence of Russia.” In Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States, eds. Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella. New York: Springer: 1–13.
  • Kristi Govella and Vinod Aggarwal. 2012. “Russian Foreign Policy: Challenging the Western Liberal International Order?” In Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States, eds. Vinod Aggarwal and Kristi Govella. New York: Springer: 125–38.

Other publications

Media coverage