Zenel Garcia is an Associate Professor of Security Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College. His research focuses on the intersection of international relations theory, security, and geopolitics. Specifically, how interpretations of security and the geopolitical environment shape the policy preferences of states in the Indo-Pacific and Eurasia. He is the author of China’s Western Frontier and Eurasia: The Politics of State and Region-Building (Routledge 2021) and China’s Military Modernization, Japan’s Normalization and the South China Sea Territorial Disputes (Palgrave 2019). He has also published several peer-reviewed articles focused on the impacts of Chinese foreign policy.
Episode Transcript: Hispanic Heritage Month – Dr. Zenel Garcia
Stephanie Crider (Host)
(Prerecorded Hispanic Heritage Month intro) The US Army War College celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. This year, to observe the occasion, the US Army War College Press recorded a series of interviews showcasing war college leadership, faculty, staff, and students. Listen in to hear their insights, anecdotes, and more.
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the podcast guest and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, the US Army War College, or any other agency of the US government.
Host
This episode’s guest is Dr. Zenel Garcia. Garcia is an associate professor of security studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the US Army War College. His research focuses on the intersection of international relations theory, security, and geopolitics—specifically, how interpretations of security in the geopolitical environment shape the policy preference of states in the Indo-Pacific and Eurasia. He’s the author of China’s Western Frontier and Eurasia: The Politics of State and Region-Building and China’s Military Modernization, Japan’s Normalization and the South China Sea Territorial Disputes. He’s also published several peer-reviewed articles focused on the impacts of Chinese foreign policy.
Thank you for being a part of the war college press Hispanic Heritage Month podcast series.
(Garcia)
Thank you.
Host
Can we just get started with you telling us about how your heritage impacts your work?
(Garcia)
Yeah, that’s a weird question for me. I think that, in general, there are two ways that I think my heritage impacts my work.
The first one is that both sides of my family have Chinese ancestry, Chinese railroad workers that came to Cuba in the nineteenth century. But that wasn’t something that I was really exposed to while I was still living there. It’s something that I kind of realized by speaking with my grandparents after I was already in my undergrad years in college. And so just kind of finding out about that background kind of sparked my interest in studying the region. So even though I was originally from Cuba, when it came time to start studying international relations, I got really interested in China and Asia as a way to get to learn more about the region.
And then the other way that it kind of impacted me is just kind of coming from Cuba and understanding the background, the history between the United States and Cuba throughout the Cold War and even now—gave me a very different perspective of what I thought the United States would have been like. You kind of grow up with a very negative image, of course. Right? That’s kind of the propaganda. And then you arrive to the United States, and it’s very different from your expectations. So it just kind of breaks a lot of what you thought it was really like. But what I do think that kind of helped me with is that it kind of gave me the opportunity to look at issues from different perspectives that I otherwise don’t think I would have had.
So I think those are generally the two things that I really took away from that.
Host
Great. Can I ask—this wasn’t on our list, but—how old were you when you came to America?
(Garcia)
Yeah, so I left when I was eight.
Host
OK.
(Garcia)
And I spent about five months in a refugee camp in the Cayman Islands, and then I went to Guantánamo (Bay detention camp) for about three-and-a-half months before coming to the United States. So I turned nine when I came to the United States in 1995.
Host
Oh, wow. So, you remember these things, like . . .
Garcia
Yeah.
Host
It’s not like you were a little baby or anything.
(Garcia)
No, vivid memory of Guantanamo base and my first drive-in theater, which—we were bussed in there, and we sat on the tarmac to watch movies there. So, it’s an interesting experience for sure.
Host
Sounds like it. OK, so can you please tell us about your biggest professional accomplishment to date?
(Garcia)
Probably sounds a little weird, but I would argue getting a job here was one of my biggest accomplishments. I’d say that because the reason I went off to get a PhD was because I found the passion for teaching. And the reason why I was really passionate about teaching was because I felt that this was gonna be one of the ways that I could make an impact, teaching students, and hopefully they’d go on to do something. And the reason for that: When I was an undergraduate student, I was originally an engineering major. And I kind of had these required courses that I had to take as per the state laws in Florida. You need two social inquiry credits; I took two courses in world politics, and one of my professors absolutely blew my mind and kind of really made me want to switch majors, which I did. I became an international relations major and went on to get a PhD with the intent that I wanted to have some similar effect. So, coming and getting a job at the war college kind of connected all of those passions, where I get to teach, but I’m also teaching a demographic of students that are immediately going to have an impact when they leave here.
Host
Right, right. I love that. Can you share with us a pivotal moment that may have changed the trajectory either of your life or of your career?
(Garcia)
I think by impact alone, leaving Cuba certainly sells it. Right?
Host
Right.
(Garcia)
So, my mom’s decision to take that leap of faith is a big one. I do think, professionally, just the story I said: There’s a scenario where I’m not here; there’s a scenario where I’m an engineer. I had a passion for it, but I discovered that I really liked this thing so much more. And so, taking that class—it was called Contemporary International Problems; the professor was Majid Al-Khalili—had I not taken that course, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten a PhD in international relations, which means I would not be here.
Host
Oh wow. What are you working on right now that you’re excited about?
(Garcia)
Right now, I’m working on my third book project. Really excited about the idea, I think. The project basically looks at the transformation of the Asia-Pacific into the Indo-Pacific. And I’m looking at government white papers and policy statements from the various countries that are promoting this regional idea. So, obviously, beginning with the United States and its Indo-Pacific strategy, but, also, looking at Japan, Australia, India–Quad countries, right? But also looking at Southeast Asian responses as well as what China’s response to that has been. So it’s keeping me busy.
Host
I bet, I bet. So where can our listeners go to learn more about you and read your work?
(Garcia)
I have two books: one on the South China Seas (South China Sea), one on the China’s foreign policy in Eurasia. Both those books are available pretty much anywhere you would buy books, but I’m always more than happy to share the PDF of those books with anybody that emails me. I have peer-reviewed articles, but those are kind of spread around different journal sources. But, again, anybody that’s interested on the topics I write about, I’m happy to share the PDFs with those.
Beyond that, after starting my work here at the war college, I understood that the institution really values and promotes public-facing scholarship, right? So something that engages with the policy world but also engages with the general population. So you’re writing commentary informed by your research to reach that wider audience. So, beginning at the end of last year, I started becoming more proactive and putting one or two pieces out a month or so. And so, in general, the places that I tend to publish these public-facing pieces are in portals that appeal to a lot of scholars and practitioners that focus on the Indo-Pacific. So one is The Diplomat, which a lot of scholars and practitioners tend to publish and read from that source on the region. And the other one is the Policy Forum, which is another portal that is hosted by the Australian National University. And so, both of them like short-form, policy-relevant kind of work. And so I’ve been kind of brandishing my skills on that in the last . . .
Host
Love it.
(Garcia)
Nine months or so. I don’t know.
Host
Awesome. This was a real treat, Zenel. It was good to see you in person.
Garcia
Oh, thank you, Stephanie. It was a pleasure meeting you in person, too.
Host
Well, hopefully our paths will cross again.
The US Army War College celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. This year, to observe the occasion, the US Army War College Press recorded a series of interviews showcasing War College leadership, faculty, staff, and students. Listen in to hear their insights, anecdotes, and more. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the podcast guests and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, US Army War College, or any other agency of the US Government.