Joseph Webster is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, and editor of the independent China-Russia Report. Webster’s broad portfolio focuses on energy and national security, with an emphasis on strengthening constitutional democracy against rival systems.

Webster’s energy research centers on the US-China strategic competition and explores the role of energy in enabling artificial intelligence, the military applications of advanced batteries, and the geopolitical consequences of shifting energy systems. His functional specializations include batteries, solar, onshore wind, semi-baseload wind, and oil and gas.

Webster’s national security-related work encompasses relations between China and Russia, including the countries’ economic interactions, planning for a potential Taiwan-related contingency, and shipbuilding and maritime supply chains.

Drawing from his professional experiences, Webster’s analyses are data driven. While at various US government trade bodies, Webster assessed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and several trade-related topics involving China and Russia. Later, at a boutique energy consultancy in Houston, Webster examined fundamental supply-demand balances for different commodities and led market analysis for the liquefied natural gas portfolio.

Webster frequently writes on energy and geopolitical topics. He has been published at the Atlantic Council, the Interpreter, and War on the Rocks, among others. Webster’s analyses are often cited in the press, including in Axios, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, the New York Times, Politico, Politico Europe, and the Wall Street Journal, as well as by official US and EU government bodies, such as the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. 

Webster completed a master’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, where he was a Mount Vernon fellow. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland. Webster is proficient in Mandarin and hails from Salisbury, Maryland.