Grant Rhode
Senior Lecturer
Grant Rhode teaches at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University where he is a Senior Fellow at the International History Institute and Research Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Asia. He is also an Associate in Research at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. Concurrently, he is a Wutong Chair Professor at the College of Sinology and China Studies of Beijing Language and Culture University, responsible for teaching and research in China during fall semesters 2025-2028. He was formerly an Adjunct Professor at the U.S. Naval War College and a Visiting Scholar at the National Taiwan University.
Dr. Rhode’s current research focuses on China’s role in contemporary and historical Eurasian maritime affairs. Since 2019, he has directed Boston University’s program Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative. He is currently working on his forthcoming book Investigating the Belt and Road: The World According to China and China According to the World (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2026) with Pardee School co-editors. His last book Great Power Clashes Along the Maritime Silk Road: Lessons from History to Shape Current Strategy (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2023) examined historic Eurasian maritime geopolitical players and their interactions, further advancing the discourse around contemporary international relations. His other publications include “Shi Lang’s Amphibious Conquest of Taiwan in 1683” (2024), “Tasting Gall: Chiang Kai-Shek and China’s War with Japan” (2022), “China’s Emergence as a Power in the Mediterranean: Port Diplomacy and Active Engagement” (2021), “China, Global History, and the Sea” (2020), “Mongol Invasions of Northeast Asia: Korea and Japan” (2020), and “By Land and By Sea: China’s Belt and Road in Europe” (2019).
In addition to his academic career, Dr. Rhode was a founder and CEO of three firms in the construction industry. As a public lecturer, he is a Viking Resident Historian aboard Viking Ocean Cruise ships in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Coral, and China Seas.
Recent teaching at the Pardee School:
Diplomacy & Statecraft
The Sea in International Relations
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Region