Experts

Evan A. Feigenbaum

Fast Facts

  • Vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Former deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia (2007–2009)
  • Former deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asia (2006–2007)
  • Expertise on China, South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, nuclear nonproliferation

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • American Defense and Security
  • Asia
  • Trade

Evan A. Feigenbaum, practitioner senior fellow, is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees Carnegie's research in Washington, Beijing, and New Delhi on a dynamic region encompassing both East Asia and South Asia. Initially an academic with a PhD in Chinese politics from Stanford University, Feigenbaum’s career has spanned government service, think tanks, the private sector, and three major regions of Asia.

From 2001 to 2009, he served at the U.S. State Department as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia (2007–2009), deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asia (2006–2007), member of the policy planning staff with principal responsibility for East Asia and the Pacific (2001–2006), and an adviser on China to Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, with whom he worked closely in the development of the U.S.-China senior dialogue.

Following government service, Feigenbaum worked in the private and nonprofit sectors: He was vice chairman of the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago and the co-founder of MacroPolo, its digital venture on the Chinese economy; head of the Asia practice at the markets consultancy Eurasia Group, a global political risk consulting firm; and senior fellow for East, Central, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. Before government service, he worked at Harvard University (1997–2001) as lecturer on government in the faculty of arts and sciences and as executive director of the Asia-Pacific Security Initiative and program chair of the Chinese Security Studies Program in the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He taught at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (1994–1995) as lecturer of national security affairs and was a consultant on China to the RAND Corporation (1993–1994).

He is the author of three books and monographs, including The United States in the New Asia (CFR, 2009, co-author) and China’s Techno-Warriors: National Security and Strategic Competition from the Nuclear to the Information Age (Stanford University Press, 2003), which was selected by Foreign Affairs as a best book of 2003 on the Asia-Pacific, as well as numerous articles and essays.

Evan A. Feigenbaum News Feed

Have major recent developments in China and the United States raised the possibility that the U.S.-China relationship, which has become increasingly strained over the last 10 years, might now move in new and more positive directions? The first panel discusses the November 2020 elections in the United States, providing an analysis of the election campaigns, the electoral process, the outcomes of the elections, and the transition from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration. It will then examine the Fifth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee in October, which discussed the foreign and domestic economic policies underlying China’s new five-year plan that will begin in 2021. The second panel analyzes the implications of these events for Chinese policy toward the U.S. and American policy toward China, assessing the prospects for both change and continuity.
Evan Feigenbaum Miller Center Presents
Trump Administration veterans like to argue that they have “transformed” American foreign policy—first, by emphasizing strategic competition among the big powers, and second, by centering this competition on the rise of Chinese power in particular. Trump’s former National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster, touts “the competitive approach to China” as “the biggest shift in U.S. foreign policy since the Cold War.” But to compete in geopolitics—as in sports, business, and life—one needs to actually compete. Washington has to outperform the Chinese competition, not just belittle it. And it has to define the competition in terms that are both realistic and workable.
Evan Feigenbaum The National Interest
The United States will inaugurate a president in January 2021 who will steer American foreign policy through a world of rising tensions and instability. The U.S.-China relationship has become the epicenter of global rivalry while the Middle East contends with entrenched conflicts and volatility. Is a new set of organizing principles necessary to mitigate conflicts, placate tensions, and establish greater cooperation in America’s strategic relationships? What are the different approaches that can be expected between a Trump and Biden presidency? In this CERAWeek Conversation, experts in energy, geopolitics, Asia, and the Middle East examine America’s place in the world and the disruptions shaping its foreign policy.
Evan Feigenbaum CERAWEEK
Superficially, many in Asia welcomed President Donald Trump’s tough talk about China, praising his administration’s emphasis on “strategic competition” with Beijing. But his policies—particularly on trade and investment—are widely viewed as having undercut that goal. President-elect Joe Biden now has an opportunity to set the stage for more systematic, institutionalized, and effective competition with Beijing.
Evan Feigenbaum Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
While Biden’s ascent to the presidency will likely transform the foreign policies pursued by his predecessor toward allies and adversaries alike, much uncertainty remains. With challenges of domestic recovery from pandemic to recession to severe polarization—a Biden administration’s bandwidth on foreign policy will be limited and likely compel it to set priorities abroad. And with no way to predict what actions his defeated predecessor may take during a transition to complicate the new president’s agenda, the road ahead is sure to be steep. Join us as three veteran scholars and discuss how China, Europe, and Iran view a Biden presidency, what they expect, and how they might respond in the months ahead.

Evan Feigenbaum Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
With no resolution to the fractured US-China relationship in sight, the United States faces a choice between continued decoupling and cautious re-engagement. Either path is fraught with risks for America’s national interests, against a backdrop of increasing public concern. Which direction should the United States take in its relationship with China over the next decade and what economic, military, and technological considerations will drive policymaking? This fall, the Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times are hosting a series of discussions on foreign policy topics central to the 2020 United States presidential election. As voters confront starkly different foreign policy worldviews, the America in 2020 series convenes influential voices with distinct perspectives to examine issues with far-reaching implications for America’s future.
Evan Feigenbaum Chicago Council on Global Affairs