Pieter W.G. Zhao is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the Department of History at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His doctoral research is funded by the NWO's PhD in the Humanities Competition (2024), which aims to boost the recruitment and advancement of research talent in the Humanities. His research project focuses on the changing dynamics in the 21st-century maritime warfare and security environment from a maritime and applied historical perspective, focusing on nonmilitary and irregular actors in the maritime domain (supervised by Prof. Dr. Ralf Futselaar, Dr. Sarah Bertrand, and Dr. Mark Hay).

Pieter holds a BA and MA (Cum Laude) in History from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, specializing 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, Paris, specializing in Strategic Studies, Asian Studies, and Intelligence Studies. He completed part of his studies at Sciences Po at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC, focusing on US-China relations, maritime security, and nuclear proliferation.

His research interests include international security and geopolitics, specifically in the maritime domain and the Indo-Pacific region. He has previously published in the Naval War College Review, European Journal of East Asian Studies, Comparative Strategy, Militaire Spectator, and the Strategy Bridge.