Bernt Berger

Bernt Berger is the founder of the Engagement Policy Centre. He has two decades' of work and study experience in China and broader Asia, focusing on issues of foreign and security policy, political development, conflicts, and regional security.

Previously he was appointed as Head of Asia Programme at the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) in Stockholm, as Senior Researcher at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) China and Global Security Programme, Research Associate for China’s Foreign and Security policy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg (IFSH). During this time he engaged  intensively with Ministries, Parliament and Government and provided policy advice.

In China he was a Visiting Fellow at Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS, in 2005), Visiting Professor at East China Normal University’s School for Advanced International and Area Studies (ECNU/SAIAS, 2005–08), and Expert for Security Affairs at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Shanghai Office (2005–06).

Bernt Berger holds postgraduate degrees in Sociology, International History and International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Hamburg. He studied Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU).

He has commented widely on issues of Chinese foreign policy and regional security affairs in Asia. Overall his work focuses on China’s domestic, foreign and security policies. He has been involved in developing concepts for Roadmaps on the Korean Peninsula, EU Foreign Policy and Myanmar’s transformation.