Darcie Draudt-Véjares, PhD [“drought-VEY-harez”] is a political scientist and Fellow for Korean Studies in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Her research examines how states manage productivity, competitiveness, and national power under conditions of demographic change, industrial transformation, and intensifying geopolitical competition, with South Korea as a leading-edge case.

Working at the intersection of comparative political economy and international relations, she analyzes industrial and technological coordination across advanced sectors—including semiconductors, batteries, AI, and space—and how population aging and workforce transformation reshape productivity, social contracts, and state capacity in advanced democracies. Across both areas, she uses Korea’s experience to illuminate broader global dynamics confronting policymakers in other aging and industrialized economies.

Dr. Draudt-Véjares previously held postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies. She has also worked with leading research institutions in Washington and Seoul including the National Bureau of Asian Research, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Yonsei University. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, an MA in Korean Studies from Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies, and an AB with Honors in Anthropology from Davidson College. She is proficient in Korean and lived in Seoul from 2008 to 2013.