Pieter Zhao is a Visiting PhD Fellow with the Forum for Private Security Research at the Defence Studies Department. He’s a PhD Candidate in History at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands, particularly focusing on the emergence and evolution of private maritime security companies. More broadly, his research explores how nonmilitary and irregular actors have shaped maritime warfare and security throughout history, and how historical perspectives can inform contemporary debates on maritime security and strategy.

Pieter holds a BA and an MA in History from Erasmus University Rotterdam, specialized in the history of international relations and maritime history. He also holds a second Master’s degree in International Security from the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po, with concentrations in strategic studies, Asian studies, and intelligence studies.

Alongside his academic research, Pieter has been involved in policy-oriented and practitioner-facing initiatives and has provided media commentary both in the Netherlands and abroad. He has served as a Nonresident Fellow at the Irregular Warfare Initiative and participated in the Maritime Leaders’ Programme at the Council on Geostrategy, where he engaged with scholars and practitioners on contemporary issues in maritime strategy and security.

Research Interests

• Maritime Security
• Naval Strategy
• Irregular Warfare
• Privatization of Security
• History of International Relations
• Applied History

Publications

• Zhao, Pieter W.G. “Irregular Solutions for Irregular Threats: Maritime Lessons from Dutch Counterpiracy Operations in Colonial Indonesia.” Irregular Warfare Initiative, September 15, 2025.
• Zhao, Pieter W.G. “Outsourcing Security at Sea: The Return of Private Maritime Security Companies and Their Role in Twenty-First-Century Maritime Security.” Naval War College Review 77, no. 1 (2024): 77–113.
• Zhao, Pieter W.G., “Winning without Fighting in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of Irregular Forces in China’s Maritime Strategy.” Militaire Spectator 193, no. 2 (2024): 85-98.
• Zhao, Pieter W.G. “China’s 21st Century Maritime Strategy: A Naval Historical Dialogue between Mahan and Corbett,” European Journal of East Asian Studies 22, no. 2 (2023): 150-178.
• Zhao, Pieter W.G., and Sayed Mahdi Munadi. “The Role of Gwadar in China’s Maritime Strategy: A Geostrategic Dialogue between Mahan and Mackinder.” Comparative Strategy 42, no. 4 (July 11, 2023): 489–508.

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