Professional Affiliation

Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and Lecturer at Princeton University

Expert Bio

Zack Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies US strategy in Asia. He also teaches at Princeton University, is a partner with Armitage International, and serves as chairman of the board of the Open Technology Fund. He previously served on staff at the White House and Pentagon. Dr. Cooper has also worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Dr. Cooper holds a BA from Stanford University and an MPA and PhD from Princeton University. He is the author of Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries (Yale University Press, 2025).

Wilson Center Project

Assessing China’s Turn Toward Power Projection (2000-2024)

Project Summary

Cooper’s project will examine how has the Chinese military has shifted investment from anti-access weaponry to power projection systems over the last twenty five years. Drawing on research from his recent book, Cooper will conduct a quantitative and qualitative review of how the People’s Liberation Army adjusted its mix of military systems from 2000 through 2025.