Nadège Rolland

Distinguished Fellow, China Studies
The National Bureau of Asian Research

[email protected]
+1.202.347.9767
@rollandnadege
Nadège Rolland

Nadège Rolland is Distinguished Fellow, China Studies, at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), an American private think-tank based in Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Her research focuses mainly on China’s foreign and defense policy, grand strategy, and the articulation of China’s vision for itself as a great power on the world stage.

Her 2017 book China’s Eurasian Century? Political and Strategic Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative is the first Western analysis to examine the strategic thought and drivers behind the BRI, based on Chinese language sources. She also authored “China’s Vision for a New World Order” (2020), and edited several multi-authored volumes, including “Securing the Belt and Road Initiative: China’s Evolving Military Engagement Along the Silk Roads” (2019), “An Emerging China-Centric Order: China’s Vision for a New World Order in Practice” (2020).

Her most recent project examines where the African continent fits in relation to China’s overall strategic vision and identifies the main instruments used by Beijing to achieve its objectives. “A New Great Game? Situating Africa in China’s Strategic Thinking,” published in June 2021, is the first of a series of reports she edited: “(In)Roads and Outposts: Critical Infrastructure in China’s Africa Strategy” (2022) and “Political Front Lines: China’s Pursuit of Influence in Africa” (2022).

Her articles and essays have appeared in a number of international publications, newspapers, and academic journals.

Prior to joining the NBR, Rolland served for two decades as an analyst and Senior Advisor on Asian and Chinese strategic issues to the French Ministry of Defense, for which she has been awarded the Medal of Honor.

She holds a MA in China studies (summa cum laude) from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations and a MSc in strategic studies (summa cum laude) from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. She is also a National Taiwan Normal University alumna.

Follow her commentary on Twitter @RollandNadege

Publications

Edited Publications

In the Media

Macron’s China Trip Is a Fool’s Errand (Foreign Policy, Apr 6, 2023)
Compromise or coexistence? (The Lowy Institute, Sep 24, 2021)
Asie de l’Est: quelles stratégies face au duel China/USA ? (Radio France Internationale (Géopolitique), Jul 23, 2021)
The new world of Xi Jinping (Arte TV, Jul 1, 2021)
Comment la Chine s’infiltre en Suisse (RTS Temps Présent, Jun 10, 2021)
Marking Communist Centenary, China Heralds Its Rising Influence (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jul 1, 2021)
Episode 54 – Nadège Rolland (China) ( Global Law and Business, May 4, 2021)
La Nouvelle Route de la Soie (U.S. Embassy Algiers Public Diplomacy, Mar 31, 2021)
Belt and Road Initiative : la Chine tisse sa toile (France Culture (Cultures monde), Mar 23, 2021)
China’s Counteroffensive in the War of Ideas ( Lowy Institute Interpreter, Feb 24, 2021)
A New World Order, According to Beijing (International Centre for Defence and Security, Feb 17, 2021)
Commanding Ideas: Think Tanks as Platforms for Authoritarian Influence (National Endowment for Democracy, Dec 15, 2020)
Un an de coronavirus : la Chine sort-elle plus forte de la crise? (France Culture, (Le temps du débat), Dec 7, 2020)
Asie-Pacifique : qui pourra s’opposer à la puissance chinoise? ( France Culture (Cultures monde), Nov 27, 2020)
China’s Vision for World Order and Its Belt and Road Initiative (Maritime Security Challenges Conference, Oct 20, 2020)
Fueling U.S.-China Clash, Years of Disconnects (Christian Science Monitor, Oct 2, 2020)
The Battle for Africa (The Lowy Institute Interpreter, Jun 21, 2021)
China’s Pandemic Power Play (Journal of Democracy, Jul 30, 2020)
The Pacific Century Talks With Nadege Rolland (The Pacific Century, Jun 11, 2020)
Is a China-Led World Order Inevitable? (Asia Times, May 27, 2020)
Chine, États-Unis : l’escalade (France Culture (Affaires étrangères), May 23, 2022)
The U.S. vs. China – A New Cold War? (DW Akademie, May 22, 2020)
Four Theories of Modern China (American Interest, Nov 19, 2021)
The Next Phase of the Belt and Road (Podcast) (Rules Based Audio, Oct 8, 2019)
Majlis Podcast: China’s Security Interests In Central Asia (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Feb 24, 2019)
A China–Russia Condominium over Eurasia (Survival: Global Politics and Strategy February–March 2019, Jan 28, 2019)
The Belt and Road Initiative: China’s Grand Strategy? (Grand Designs: Does China Have a Grand Strategy?, Oct 18, 2017)
Book Presentation at ECFR Paris Event (ECFR Paris, Jul 11, 2017)
Why Does China Want to Revive the Silk Road? (BBC World Service, Jun 25, 2017)
Why the Belt & Road Initiative? (National Interest, Jun 8, 2017)
A grand strategy with Chinese Characteristics ( All Things Policy, Mar 30, 2020)
Unwrapping the Belt and Road: Chinese Perspectives (George Washington University Central Asia Program, Mar 8, 2016)
China and the Developing World (Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, Feb 24, 2016)
La nouvelle Route de la soie. Les ambitions chinoises en Eurasie (Politique étrangère, 2015/3 Automne, Oct 1, 2015)
A Fiber Optic Silk Road (Diplomat, Apr 2, 2015)