Ties Dams

Ties Dams is a research fellow at the Clingendael Institute. His research focus is on Europe’s great power competition, particularly with China. How does China’s ascent impact Europe’s evolution as a geopolitical actor?

Educated as a political theorist in Utrecht, Xiamen, Hongkong and London, Ties has a particular interest in the power of narrative. How do great powers tell stories to project geopolitical influence? Bridging the gap between the philosophical and the strategic, he is a member of the EEAS’s Expert Roundtable on Foreign Information Manipulation and Influence, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats’ expert pool, and speaks broadly about strategic communications, soft power strategies and influence activities.

In 2018 he published the first book on the life and rule of president Xi Jinping, in Dutch, titled De Nieuwe Keizer. It quickly became a bestseller. Since then he has become a much-seen expert on China’s geopolitics for Dutch TV and radio as well as a regular contributor to international print media on Sino-European relations. He continues to publish broadly as an essayist for general audiences. 

Expertise

• China

• Europe and the World

• Transatlantic Relations

• Foreign Information Manipulation and Influence