Adviser: Mr. Aaron Garfield, ISD State Department Rusk Fellow, Foreign Service Officer

Topic: With God as Their Witness: Analyzing the Responses of Muslim-Majority States in the Middle East to China’s Actions in Xinjiang

J. Harper Thomas is a candidate in the BSFS/MA Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In his undergraduate studies, Harper majors in International Politics with minors in Arabic and Theology.

Growing up in Singapore and Shanghai, Harper is inspired to explore international relations, globalization, and the challenges of diplomacy in a rapidly evolving world. Harper is active on campus as chairman of the Students of Georgetown Inc., and has also served as chairman of the Georgetown International Relations Club.

His ISD research will investigate the developing relationships between Middle Eastern states and China in the context of ongoing Chinese actions in Xinjiang.