The Threat From Overseas Chinese Military Bases Is Overblown
U.S. policymakers see China's overseas bases as a threat, but writings from Chinese military strategists suggest little interest in initiating offensive operations from such facilities.
Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga is a senior policy researcher at RAND, where he focuses on Asian security issues. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy, Chinese military strategy, Chinese influence operations, Chinese nuclear strategy, Chinese deterrence signaling, the Korean Peninsula and INDOPACOM posture.
Prior to joining RAND, Beauchamp-Mustafaga was the editor of China Brief at The Jamestown Foundation, a biweekly publication focusing on strategic China-related issues utilizing indigenous language sources. He has also spent time with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Center for International and Strategic Studies at Peking University (CISS), and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).
Beauchamp-Mustafaga graduated from the dual-degree M.Sc. in International Affairs program at the London School of Economics and Peking University, and earned a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Chinese language and literature from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a Pacific Forum Young Leader, and a Nonresident Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research. In total, Beauchamp-Mustafaga lived in China for over three years and completed a year each of high school, university and master's education at seven schools in five cities throughout China.
Education
M.Sc. in international affairs, London School of Economics and Political Science; M.A. in international affairs, Peking University; B.A. in International Affairs and Chinese Language and Culture, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs
Languages
Mandarin Chinese
Concurrent Non-RAND Positions
Nonresident Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research
Selected Work
- Heim, Jacob L., Zachary Burdette, and Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, U.S. Military Theories of Victory for a War with the People's Republic of China, RAND Corporation (PE-A1743-1), 2024
- Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Exploring the Implications of Generative AI for Chinese Military Cyber-Enabled Influence Operations: Chinese Military Strategies, Capabilities, and Intent, RAND Corporation (CTA-3191-1), 2024
- Marcellino, William, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Amanda Kerrigan, Lev Navarre Chao, and Jackson Smith, The Rise of Generative AI and the Coming Era of Social Media Manipulation 3.0: Next-Generation Chinese Astroturfing and Coping with Ubiquitous AI, RAND Corporation (PE-A2679-1), 2023
- Wong, Jonathan P., Michael J. Mazarr, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Michael Bohnert, Scott Boston, Christian Curriden, Derek Eaton, Gregory Weider Fauerbach, Joslyn Fleming, Kate Giglio, Dahlia Anne Goldfeld, Derek Grossman, Timothy R. Heath, John C. Jackson, Michael E. Linick, Eric Robinson, Lisa Saum-Manning, Ryan A. Schwankhart, Michael Schwille, Stephan B. Seabrook, Alice Shih, and Jonathan Welch, New Directions for Projecting Land Power in the Indo-Pacific: Contexts, Constraints, and Concepts, RAND Corporation (RR-A1672-1), 2022
- Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Nathan, Derek Grossman, Kristen Gunness, Michael S. Chase, Marigold Black, and Natalia D. Simmons-Thomas, Deciphering Chinese Deterrence Signalling in the New Era: An Analytic Framework and Seven Case Studies, RAND Corporation (RR-A1074-1), 2021
- Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, "Dare to Face the "Strong Enemy 强敌": How Xi Jinping Has Made the PLA Talk About the United States," Sinocism, 2021, 2021
- Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Bomber Strike Packages with Chinese Characteristics, National Defense University, 2021
- Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga and Michael Chase, Borrowing a Boat Out to Sea: The Chinese Military's Use of Social Media for Influence Operations, John Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, 2020
Authored by Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga
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