Jonathan Ng

Jonathan Ng received his Ph.D. in U.S. history from Northwestern University in 2021. After graduating, he secured a Jay T. Walker Postdoctoral Fellowship in U.S. and World History at the University of Tulsa, and later, a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. A passionate educator, he has taught classes on U.S. politics, foreign policy, and militarization. Previously, he also oversaw an oral history series on U.S. relations with Latin America. Jonathan has contributed articles to both popular and scholarly journals, including Diplomatic History, and hopes that his work will help the public better understand the enduring costs of war.  

Jonathan's dissertation examines how government and corporate leaders promoted arms sales to sustain both the military-industrial complex and national influence after the Vietnam War. Drawing on archives across continents, his research reveals how the arms trade became a pillar of U.S. grand strategy, as policy makers boosted exports to rescue struggling corporations, address major economic crises, and outsource military interventions to foreign clients.  

While at Dartmouth, Jonathan will focus on writing his book, The Unquenchable Fire: The Arms Trade and Reproduction of the US Empire, 1960-1992, which is under contract with University of Pennsylvania Press.