Nicholas Bequelin
@bequelin.bsky.social
Senior Fellow, Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center. Power Shifts in International Relations and what they mean for rights protection. Formerly Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, All things Asia.
Pinned
China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
In 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every conceivable front.
foreignpolicy.com
⚠️China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle.
In @foreignpolicy.com I argue with my co-author @yaqiu.bsky.social that, under the Trump administration's first 19 months, China has gained ground across almost every dimension of its rivalry with the U.S.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
In @foreignpolicy.com I argue with my co-author @yaqiu.bsky.social that, under the Trump administration's first 19 months, China has gained ground across almost every dimension of its rivalry with the U.S.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
There is a reason why Trump's nickname in China is 川建国同志, "Comrade Build-the-Nation" (a Chinese agent secretly sabotaging the US from the inside) and is credited with being "the best thing that happened to Chinese science".
His policies have made China stronger.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
His policies have made China stronger.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
In 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every conceivable front.
foreignpolicy.com
September 22, 2026 at 2:07 PM
There is a reason why Trump's nickname in China is 川建国同志, "Comrade Build-the-Nation" (a Chinese agent secretly sabotaging the US from the inside) and is credited with being "the best thing that happened to Chinese science".
His policies have made China stronger.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
His policies have made China stronger.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
⚠️China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle.
In @foreignpolicy.com I argue with my co-author @yaqiu.bsky.social that, under the Trump administration's first 19 months, China has gained ground across almost every dimension of its rivalry with the U.S.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
In @foreignpolicy.com I argue with my co-author @yaqiu.bsky.social that, under the Trump administration's first 19 months, China has gained ground across almost every dimension of its rivalry with the U.S.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
In 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every conceivable front.
foreignpolicy.com
September 17, 2026 at 5:10 PM
⚠️China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle.
In @foreignpolicy.com I argue with my co-author @yaqiu.bsky.social that, under the Trump administration's first 19 months, China has gained ground across almost every dimension of its rivalry with the U.S.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
In @foreignpolicy.com I argue with my co-author @yaqiu.bsky.social that, under the Trump administration's first 19 months, China has gained ground across almost every dimension of its rivalry with the U.S.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
When it comes to AI, the US should stop projecting on China its own ambitions (domination), its own geopolitical anxieties (hegemony), and its own understanding of technology (economic supremacy). China’s vision for AI is its own, shaped by history.
My essay:
www.theideasletter.org/essay/shooti...
My essay:
www.theideasletter.org/essay/shooti...
May 5, 2026 at 8:53 PM
When it comes to AI, the US should stop projecting on China its own ambitions (domination), its own geopolitical anxieties (hegemony), and its own understanding of technology (economic supremacy). China’s vision for AI is its own, shaped by history.
My essay:
www.theideasletter.org/essay/shooti...
My essay:
www.theideasletter.org/essay/shooti...
Is the world condemned to autocracy? In @foreignpolicy.com I argue that claims about the end of the international order are overstated and that autocracies are unable to construct alternatives.
Read the essay on FP.com or on my Substack @ rightsstuff.substack.com
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/13/d...
Read the essay on FP.com or on my Substack @ rightsstuff.substack.com
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/13/d...
The Age of Defensive Democracy
What is at stake today is not whether democracy can spread but whether it can survive at all.
foreignpolicy.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Is the world condemned to autocracy? In @foreignpolicy.com I argue that claims about the end of the international order are overstated and that autocracies are unable to construct alternatives.
Read the essay on FP.com or on my Substack @ rightsstuff.substack.com
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/13/d...
Read the essay on FP.com or on my Substack @ rightsstuff.substack.com
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/13/d...
🇪🇺🤝🇨🇳Is US policy pushing Europe into China’s arms? Au contraire.
In my latest piece on the state of Europe-China relations, I argue that Europeans see the threat from authoritarianism more clearly than ever—but still lack a coherent response.
👇
www.9dashline.com/article/impa...
In my latest piece on the state of Europe-China relations, I argue that Europeans see the threat from authoritarianism more clearly than ever—but still lack a coherent response.
👇
www.9dashline.com/article/impa...
June 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM
🇪🇺🤝🇨🇳Is US policy pushing Europe into China’s arms? Au contraire.
In my latest piece on the state of Europe-China relations, I argue that Europeans see the threat from authoritarianism more clearly than ever—but still lack a coherent response.
👇
www.9dashline.com/article/impa...
In my latest piece on the state of Europe-China relations, I argue that Europeans see the threat from authoritarianism more clearly than ever—but still lack a coherent response.
👇
www.9dashline.com/article/impa...
🚨 In my new essay for @foreignpolicy.com I argue that there is a consistent logic to Trump's foreign policy moves but that traditional views of geopolitics are failing to capture it.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/18/t...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/18/t...
The Key to Understanding Trump’s Chaotic Foreign Policy
Around the world, the White House seems to be aiding autocracies at the expense of democracy.
foreignpolicy.com
March 18, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🚨 In my new essay for @foreignpolicy.com I argue that there is a consistent logic to Trump's foreign policy moves but that traditional views of geopolitics are failing to capture it.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/18/t...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/18/t...
Reposted by Nicholas Bequelin
🎙️ NEW PODCAST ALERT! @badiucao.bsky.social and I are on the New Books Network speaking to host @bequelin.bsky.social about our upcoming graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION, and about human rights + resistance! 🔗 Full episode here: newbooksnetwork.com/you-must-tak...
February 7, 2025 at 6:45 PM
🎙️ NEW PODCAST ALERT! @badiucao.bsky.social and I are on the New Books Network speaking to host @bequelin.bsky.social about our upcoming graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION, and about human rights + resistance! 🔗 Full episode here: newbooksnetwork.com/you-must-tak...
🆕🔇For the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social , I interviewed @melissakchan.bsky.social and @badiucao.bsky.social about their soon to be published dystopian graphic novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution.
🔊 Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/you-must-tak...
Also on Spotify & Apple Podcast!
🔊 Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/you-must-tak...
Also on Spotify & Apple Podcast!
February 6, 2025 at 1:18 PM
🆕🔇For the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social , I interviewed @melissakchan.bsky.social and @badiucao.bsky.social about their soon to be published dystopian graphic novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution.
🔊 Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/you-must-tak...
Also on Spotify & Apple Podcast!
🔊 Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/you-must-tak...
Also on Spotify & Apple Podcast!
Finally! Colombia has been the least successful country to court for Beijing due to its close ties to the U.S. This will make it a lot easier for China to build its influence there.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/w...
Trump Hits Colombia With Tariffs in Feud Over Military Deportation Flights
Gustavo Petro said on X that the United States should not treat Colombian migrants as criminals and that he had already turned away U.S. military flights carrying deportees.
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Finally! Colombia has been the least successful country to court for Beijing due to its close ties to the U.S. This will make it a lot easier for China to build its influence there.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/w...
⚠️ The human rights movement is fighting a losing battle and it's not going to get better. In this essay for the Open Society Foundations' Ideas Letter I lay out why it's the case and why it’s time to stop burying our heads in the sand.
www.theideasletter.org/essay/human-...
#HumanRights
www.theideasletter.org/essay/human-...
#HumanRights
Human Rights on the Edge - The Ideas Letter
The human rights movement faces a critical juncture as the postwar international order that created it gives way to a fragmented, multipolar world dominated by rising autocracies and diminishing Weste...
www.theideasletter.org
January 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
⚠️ The human rights movement is fighting a losing battle and it's not going to get better. In this essay for the Open Society Foundations' Ideas Letter I lay out why it's the case and why it’s time to stop burying our heads in the sand.
www.theideasletter.org/essay/human-...
#HumanRights
www.theideasletter.org/essay/human-...
#HumanRights
Done! Looking forward to it!
📬 We're sending signed thank you notes* (with special art!) from @badiucao.bsky.social and I if you PRE-ORDER our graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION! At major online retailers and indie bookshops! Happy Holidays! 🔗 LINK TO PRE-ORDER + to get our THANK YOU: www.melissachan.com/revolution
December 1, 2024 at 8:52 AM
Done! Looking forward to it!