Dr. Fiona Cunningham

Biography

Fiona Cunningham is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Faculty Fellow at Perry World House and is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Contemporary China and the Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics. Her research interests lie at the intersection of technology and conflict, with an empirical focus on China. Cunningham's book, titled 'Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons and International Security', published by Princeton University Press in 2024, examines China's distinctive approach to coercing adversaries within the context of nuclear war. Her work has been published in academic and policy-oriented outlets such as International Security, Security Studies, and Washington Quarterly. She has held fellowships at prestigious institutions including the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and the Center for International Security Cooperation at Stanford University. Cunningham has conducted fieldwork at Renmin University of China and has received research support from various organizations including the Korea National Commission for UNESCO and the Ploughshares Fund. She is also a research affiliate at the MIT Security Studies Program and holds nonresident affiliations with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the National Security College at the Australian National University. Fiona earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from MIT in 2018 and holds dual Bachelor's degrees from the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney, graduated with class honors. Before her current role, she was an Assistant Professor at the George Washington University, where she taught courses on International Security, Chinese Foreign Policy, and Strategic Studies.

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