Bart Gaens
Senior Research Fellow- Japan’s foreign policy
- Japanese studies (area studies)
- EU-Asia relations and inter-regionalism
- Major power relations in the Indo-Pacific
- Asia-Europe connectivity
Bart Gaens is Senior Research Fellow in the Global Security and Governance research programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. From May 2021 to April 2023, he led a project on connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region. He also holds the title of Docent at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki.
In the past he has worked as Project Director for FIIA’s Center on US Politics and Power (CUSPP), Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Helsinki, and Specially-Appointed Associate Professor at Osaka University in Japan.
He has published widely on Europe-Asia inter-regionalism and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process, Japan’s foreign policy and regional role, India’s foreign policy and relations with the EU, domestic politics in Myanmar, and security-related issues in the Indo-Pacific region. He has also (co)edited volumes and reports on connectivity, EU-Asia relations, the US-China rivalry, transatlantic relations, and Japan’s search for strategic partnerships.
Degrees
PhD, Graduate University for Advanced Studies ( Japan)
Language skills
English, Dutch, Japanese (working languages), German, French, Finnish (receptive skills)
Work experience
Senior Research Fellow, Global Security Research Programme, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2011-present
Project Director, Center on US Politics and Power (CUSPP), The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2016-2020
Specially-appointed Associate Professor, Osaka University, 2014-2018
Programme Director (acting), Global Security Research Programme, 2013
Professor of Japanese Language and Culture, Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki, 2009-2011
Project leader, Senior Researcher, University of Helsinki Network for European Studies, 2007-2009
Adviser, ASEM6-secretariat, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2006
Researcher, University of Helsinki Network for European Studies, 2005-2006
COE (Center of Excellence) Researcher/Lecturer, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, 1999-2001
Current projects at FIIA
Japan’s foreign policy
Asia-Europe connectivity
Major power relations in East Asia
Education
PhD, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Japan) 1999
MA, Osaka University of Foreign Studies (Japan) 1995
Licentiate, University of Leuven (Belgium) 1989