David C Logan
David C. Logan is an Assistant Professor of Security Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he specializes in international security, nuclear strategy, and great-power competition, with a particular emphasis on China’s nuclear doctrine and strategic thought. His scholarship sits at the intersection of international relations theory and policy-relevant security analysis, and he is widely regarded as part of a new generation of scholars shaping contemporary debates on nuclear deterrence and strategic stability.
Dr. Logan received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, where his doctoral research focused on extended deterrence, escalation dynamics, and nuclear strategy. His academic training combined rigorous theoretical grounding with extensive empirical research, including the systematic use of Chinese-language sources to analyze Beijing’s strategic worldview. Prior to joining Fletcher, he served as an Assistant Professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College and held a prestigious Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship at the MIT Security Studies Program, experiences that reinforced his ability to bridge academic scholarship and real-world policy concerns.
Logan’s research agenda centers on how states conceptualize nuclear weapons, deterrence, and strategic stability, with China occupying a central place in his work. He is particularly known for challenging assumptions that Chinese nuclear thinking simply mirrors Cold War–era U.S. or Soviet models. Instead, his research demonstrates that Chinese strategic culture reflects distinct priorities, threat perceptions, and escalation concerns that have important implications for U.S.–China relations. Through careful analysis of Chinese military writings, elite debates, and doctrinal evolution, he highlights how misaligned understandings of strategic stability can increase the risks of miscalculation between nuclear-armed states.
His scholarship has appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals, including International Security, Journal of Strategic Studies, International Organization, and Asian Security. Among his most influential contributions is his work on Chinese views of strategic stability, which provides one of the most comprehensive English-language analyses of how Chinese analysts interpret concepts such as mutual vulnerability, arms racing, and crisis escalation. He has also published extensively on nuclear-conventional entanglement, elite and public attitudes toward nuclear weapons, and the organizational dynamics of China’s PLA Rocket Force. In addition, he co-authored a major monograph for the National Defense University Press on the drivers of China’s nuclear force development, offering analytical tools for assessing Beijing’s evolving capabilities and intentions.
At Fletcher, Professor Logan teaches courses on international security and great-power competition that emphasize analytical rigor, strategic empathy, and the careful evaluation of both U.S. and non-U.S. perspectives. His pedagogical approach reflects his broader intellectual commitment: preparing students and practitioners to understand adversaries on their own terms rather than through mirror-imaging or ideological assumptions.
Overall, David C. Logan’s academic profile is defined by deep expertise on China, methodological rigor, and a sustained focus on nuclear risk reduction in an era of intensifying great-power rivalry. His work contributes not only to scholarly debates but also to policy discussions about how the United States and China can manage competition without drifting toward catastrophic escalation.