Kristin Lerfald Grostad is a PhD fellow at the Center for International Security, and a PhD researcher at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) at Vrije University, Brussels (VUB). Her PhD investigates the role of U.S. alliance partners in an era of superpower rivalry between the U.S. and China.
Kristin holds a bachelor degree in International Relations from Nottingham University, and a Master’s degree in International Security from Sciences Po, Paris. Her M.A. thesis was written on the US-Japan Alliance, and she subsequently spent time in Tokyo as an intern at the Royal Norwegian Embassy. Before starting her PhD, she has lead her own team as an entrepreneur, and worked as an advisor at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.