About

Mayumi Fukushima is a political scientist specializing in international security, particularly in the areas of security alliances and nuclear weapons. Her teaching interests include international politics of East Asia, nuclear politics, and technology and international conflicts, among others. 

She is currently working on a book project on asymmetric international security alliances, in addition to two research projects on nuclear extended deterrence and nonproliferation. Her research has been published in War on the Rocks, International Affairs, The National Interest, and The American Interest, among others, and it has been supported by various funding organizations including the Charles Koch Foundation, the Stanton Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Murata Science Foundation, and the Ito Foundation for International Education Exchange. She has also held academic fellowships from the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of Harvard Kennedy School, the RAND Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies, and Yale University’s International Security Studies Program.

She came to Bates College from Harvard University, where she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the International Security Program of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before her academic career, she served as a Japanese career diplomat with responsibilities related to national security issues and U.S.-Japan security cooperation.