Reuben Steff

I'm a Associate Professor at Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic, publishing in the fields of Great Power Competition | Emerging Tech | Indo-Pacific & European Geopolitics | Deterrence Theory.

I'm open to general discourse, speaking at conferences, and to businesses and government organizations that seek to deepen their geopolitical understanding.

Reach me at: Reuben.steff@mendelu.cz

I've authored five books, including New Zealand's Geopolitics and the US-China Competition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), Emerging Technologies and International Security: Machines, the State and War (Routledge 2020), and US Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump: Drivers, Strategy and Tactics (Routledge, 2020). My latest journal articles are: 'The Strategic Case for New Zealand to Join AUKUS Pillar 2.' Australian Journal of International Affairs, (2025) 78(5), 630–638 and '"Our region is now a Strategic Theatre": New Zealand’s Balancing Response to China.' The Pacific Review (2024), 37(6), 1120–1151.

Prior to my time in academia, I spent 2.5 years working in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I'm a regular media contributor, have participated in various policy development processes in New Zealand (for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet), attended several academic-government roundtables on national security issues, and participated in track 1.5 and track 2 dialogues.