Charles Dunst is a Visiting Scholar at the East-West Center in Washington, an Associate at LSE IDEAS, and a Contributing Editor of American Purpose. His work focuses on Chinese foreign policy, Southeast Asia, and U.S.-Indo-Pacific relations. He has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, and the Council on Foreign Relations, among other outlets. He has appeared on BBC News and ABC News. 

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In 2018 and 2019, Dunst was based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, reporting as a freelance foreign correspondent from that country, Vietnam, and Myanmar for outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and the Los Angeles Times. Among the stories he covered were U.S.-Southeast Asia relations, Chinese influence in the region, Cambodian strongman Hun Sen's crackdowns, Israel-Myanmar relations, and the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

He has also lived in Hungary, and reported from Israel and the West Bank, Romania, and Andorra.

Dunst holds an M.Sc. with Distinction in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He received a B.A. with honors in World Politics from Hamilton College, for which he also studied at Corvinus University of Budapest in Hungary.

Top image: Khmer fishermen in the Gulf of Thailand, off the coast of Kampot, Cambodia. 

Bottom image: Montagnard ethnic minorities preparing meat in Kontum Province, Việt Nam. (Photos by Charles Dunst)