Derek J. Mitchell is Senior Fellow for Asia Projects in the International Security Program, CSIS. Derek J. Mitchell joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies on January 31, 2001.  In this position, Mr. Mitchell is responsible for managing all Asia-related studies conducted in ISP, which currently include projects involving the security of the Taiwan Strait, the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance, U.S.-China relations, South Korean popular sentiment toward the United States, and maritime security in East Asia.    

Mr. Mitchell served at the Department of Defense as Special Assistant for Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1997-2001, when he served alternately as Senior Country Director for China, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Hong Kong (2000-1), Director for Regional Security Affairs (1998-2000), Country Director for Japan (1997-8), and Senior Country Director for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore (1998-9).  Mr. Mitchell was the principal author of DoD’s 1998 East Asia Strategy Report. 

Prior to joining DoD, Mr. Mitchell served as Senior Program Officer for Asia and the former Soviet Union at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and as assistant to the senior foreign policy adviser to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.  Mr. Mitchell received a Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1991, and a Bachelors degree from the University of Virginia in 1986.