Ely Ratner Explained

Ely Ratner
Office:	Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs
Term Start:	July 25, 2021
President:	Joe Biden
Predecessor:	Randall Schriver
Education:	Princeton University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (PhD)

Ely Stefansky Ratner^[1] (born 1977) is an American political scientist currently serving as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs in the Biden administration.^[2]

Early life and education

Ratner graduated with an A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 1998 after completing a 115-page-long senior thesis, titled "Peace, Security, and Realpolitik: A Theoretical Analysis of the Effort to Expand the United Nations Security Council," under the supervision of Kathleen R. McNamara.^{[3] [4]} He later received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.^{[5] [6]}

Career

In 2002 and 2003, Ratner was a staffer to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, under then-Chairman Joe Biden. He was an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation from 2009 to 2011. Ratner then joined the United States Department of State as a China desk officer. From 2015 to 2017, Ratner served as deputy national security advisor to then Vice President Joe Biden. After the end of the Obama administration, Ratner became Maurice R. Greenberg Chair in China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations 2017-2018. He was also executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security.^[7]

DoD Nomination

On April 21, 2021, Ratner was nominated by President Joe Biden to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs under Secretary Lloyd Austin.^{[8] [9]} The Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on Ratner's nomination on June 16, 2021. The committee favorably reported Ratner's nomination to the Senate floor on June 22, 2021. A month later, on July 22, 2021, the full Senate confirmed Ratner by voice vote.^[10]

He was sworn in to the new position by Lloyd Austin on July 25, 2021.^{[2] [11]}

Publications

Articles

• The China Reckoning: How Beijing Defied American Expectations, Foreign Affairs, April 2018 (co-authored with Kurt M. Campbell)^[12]

Personal life

Ratner and his wife, Jennifer Yang, married in 2009.^[13]

References

1. Web site: PN428 — Ely Stefansky Ratner — Department of Defense . U.S. Congress . 2021-04-29.
2. Web site: Garamone . Jim . Austin Administers Speedy Swearing-In for DOD . U.S. Department of Defense.
3. Ratner . Ely Stefansky . McNamara . Kathleen . Peace, Security, and Realpolitik: A Theoretical Analysis of the Effort to Expand the United Nations Security Council . 1998 . English.
4. Web site: Ely Ratner . Bridging the Gap Project . 2021-04-29.
5. Web site: 2021-04-21. President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations for National Security. 2021-04-21. The White House. en-US.
6. Web site: 2021-03-29. Tigers In the Nation's Service: Alumni in the Biden Administration. 2021-04-21. Princeton Alumni Weekly. en.
7. Web site: Dr. Ely S. Ratner . 2023-07-10 . U.S. Department of Defense . en-US.
8. Web site: Mehta. Aaron. 2021-04-21. Indo-Pacific, DNI deputy nominees named. 2021-04-21. Defense News. en-US.
9. Web site: President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations for National Security . The White House . 21 April 2021 . 14 March 2022.
10. Web site: PN428 — Ely Stefansky Ratner — Department of Defense 117th Congress (2021-2022) . US Congress . 22 July 2021 . 14 March 2022.
11. News: Gould . Joe . July 26, 2021 . Pentagon adding new China and tech chiefs . . July 26, 2021.
12. Campbell . Kurt M. . Ratner . Ely . 2018 . The China Reckoning: How Beijing Defied American Expectations . Foreign Affairs . 97 . 2 . 60–70 . 0015-7120.
13. News: 2009-09-26. Jennifer Yang, Ely Ratner. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-04-21. 0362-4331.