Erik Mobrand Named RAND Corporation's Korea Policy Chair

Erik Mobrand, a political scientist whose research focuses on political transformation in South Korea and Asia more broadly, has joined the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation as its Korea Policy Chair.

Mobrand, author of the book Top-Down Democracy in South Korea, had been an associate professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies since 2016 and had worked in academia in Singapore for the previous decade. He has conducted research on party politics, law and politics, gender and leadership, anti-corruption movements, and urban management.

At RAND, Mobrand's work will seek to illuminate Korean perspectives on ties between the United States and South Korea, including examining South Korea's growing connections in Southeast Asia. Mobrand expects to explore democracy, development and human rights in his RAND research.

Mobrand has collaborated with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). He worked with the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies on new perspectives on North Korea. He has written commentary on topics ranging from constitutional reform and local elections to COVID-19 responses.

Mobrand, who earned his doctorate in politics at Princeton University, has been a guest researcher at Lund University's Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, as well as at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at National University of Singapore.

The Korea Policy Chair position is funded with support from the Korea Foundation.