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Dr Alexander Korolev

Dr Alexander Korolev

Senior Lecturer
Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA)
School of Social Sciences

Dr Alexander Korolev is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney). His research lies at the intersection of International Relations theory and comparative politics, with particular expertise in great-power politics, strategic alignment, hedging, and the international relations of China and Russia. His work examines the dynamics of geopolitical competition, China–Russia relations, and the strategic interactions among China, Russia, and the United States. He received an MA in International Relations from Nankai University, Zhou Enlai School of Government (2009), and PhD in Political Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2012). He has been a visiting researcher in the Political Science Department at Brown University (2011-2012).

His current research focuses on how small and middle powers navigate intensifying great-power rivalry and manage strategic uncertainty in an increasingly contested international environment. More broadly, his scholarship seeks to bridge International Relations theory and area studies to explain patterns of interstate cooperation, alignment, and strategic behaviour.

Alexander is the author of When Hedging Fails: Structural Uncertainty, Protective Options, and Geopolitical (Im)Prudence in Smaller Powers’ Behaviour (Cambridge University Press, 2025) and China–Russia Strategic Alignment in International Politics (Amsterdam University Press, 2022). His research has appeared in leading journals, including International Studies Review, International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of Strategic Studies, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Pacific Affairs, Asian Security, Studies in Comparative International Development, and other journals.
E-mail
a.korolev@unsw.edu.au
Location
Morven Brown

1) RG253596: Russia's strategies to mitigate technological dependence on China // HII Mission Technologies Corp / International Contract.

2) RG222287: China-Russia Strategic Alignment in the post-Ukraine International Politics // Alion Science and Technology Corporation / Russia Strategic Initiative Research Program Shared Grant

3) RG253377: Navigating great power rivalry under the conditions of global // Plus Alliance Security & Defence Seed Grants

"Research Excellence Award 2016 - Special Recognition" for achievements in publishing at the top of the field, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

“Research Excellence Award 2017” for journal articles published in the most influential journals in the Scopus database, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Alex's current projects include: 1) completion of a book manuscript on the theory of strategic alignments with special reference to China-Russia alignment. The book will bridge area studies and International Relations literature to develop a set of objective criteria to measure and explain the development of strategic alignment in post-Cold War China-Russia relations. The developed framework is further applied to the case of US-India alignment and other cases. 2) work on series of articles on small and middle power behaviour in the context of intensifying great power rivalry. This project explores how small and middle powers, like Australia and the states in the South China Sea region as well as in the post-Soviet Space, can defend their interests amidst growing confrontation in US-China and US-Russia relations.

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    My Research Supervision

    PhD: Mr Pan Guangyi (2020, primary supervisor): The Changing National Role in Neoclassical Realism: The Evolution of China’s Alignment with Russia Since 1949. Ms Hien Thu Phan (2020, primary supervisor): The Politics of Domestic Legitimacy Enhancement and Southeast Asian States’ Strategies of Engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Ms Jamie-Lee Burgess (2020, primary supervisor): Security Dilemma in China-Russia Relations.

    My Teaching

    ARTS2815 Politics and Security in the Indo-Pacific

    POLS5127 China and Asia-Pacific Security

    POLS5130 International Peace and Security