Dean Karalekas is an affiliated research fellow at the Centre of Austronesian Studies at the University of Central Lancashire, having earned his PhD from the International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies at National Chengchi University.

He is the author of The Men in No Man's Land: A Journey into Bir Tawil and Civil-Military Relations in Taiwan: Identity and Transformation. He is also an ethnographic and narrative filmmaker, having produced, written and directed several award-winning films on a diversity of subjects, from the Canadian experience in World War II to indigenous mythology.