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United States Institute of Peace

Alison McFarland

Program Specialist, Research

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Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.

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Alison McFarland is a program specialist for research with the China program at USIP. 

She previously interned with the China program at the Stimson Center and the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. She has also worked as a freelance Chinese-English translator. Her research interests include Chinese foreign policy, East Asian regional dynamics and conflict management.

McFarland holds a master’s degree in China studies from the Yenching Academy of Peking University as well as a master’s degree in Chinese translation from the University of Bath. She has a bachelor’s degree in East Asian languages and civilizations and international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Publications By Alison

China and the Reshaping of Global Conflict Prevention Norms

China and the Reshaping of Global Conflict Prevention Norms

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D. ;   Bates Gill ;   Alison McFarland

As China has become a more powerful and influential actor—economically, politically, and militarily—it has demonstrated growing interest in playing a larger role in international conflict prevention and influencing established norms. This report examines Beijing’s approaches and efforts in this area, focusing on three case studies: funding projects through the UN, “Sinocentric” regional organizations, and ties with Solomon Islands. The report finds that China’s efforts around conflict prevention have a coherence that requires a similarly coherent response from the United States.

Type: Peaceworks

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Global Policy

How Does China Approach Conflict Prevention?

How Does China Approach Conflict Prevention?

Thursday, September 7, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D. ;   Bates Gill ;   Alison McFarland

As the United States enters a “post-Afghanistan era” and with great power competition on the rise, questions abound about the role of the world’s major powers, and the multilateral institutions they lead, in preventing conflict. Many of these questions are rightly being asked about the People’s Republic of China (hereafter the PRC or China). As it has become a more powerful and influential actor — economically, politically and militarily — China has demonstrated growing interest in playing a larger role in preventing international conflict through both multilateral and bilateral frameworks. To date, little attention has been given to China’s activities in this area, a gap in understanding our forthcoming report is designed to help fill.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Blinken’s Beijing Trip: ‘Constructive’ but No Breakthroughs

Blinken’s Beijing Trip: ‘Constructive’ but No Breakthroughs

Thursday, June 22, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D. ;   Rosie Levine ;   Alison McFarland ;   Alex Stephenson

Over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken finally made it to Beijing, where he met with senior-level Chinese Communist Party officials, including Xi Jinping. This trip was originally scheduled for early February but delayed nearly five months following the U.S. detection of a Chinese spy balloon hovering over American territory. Already on a downward trajectory before the balloon debacle, U.S.-China relations have continued to spiral since, as high-level communication has been on pause. While no major breakthroughs were made in Beijing and both sides stuck to their boilerplate talking points on issues of disagreement, the resumption of high-level dialogue is a positive step.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

China Looks to Fill a Void in Central Asia

China Looks to Fill a Void in Central Asia

Thursday, May 25, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D. ;   Gavin Helf, Ph.D. ;   Alison McFarland

As the Group of Seven met at the end of last week in Hiroshima, Japan, China organized a summit with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, marking a new chapter in Beijing’s engagement with the region. Central Asian states are looking for a new partner to help ensure their own security against domestic rebellions, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has limited Moscow’s ability to fulfill a longstanding role as a guarantor of domestic stability in the region. While most of the summit’s public discussion focused on economic and trade issues, China noted that it would help Central Asia enhance it’s law enforcement and security capabilities, which aligns with Beijing’s intensifying campaign for “global security.”

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

China and Strategic Instability in Space: Pathways to Peace in an Era of US-China Strategic Competition

China and Strategic Instability in Space: Pathways to Peace in an Era of US-China Strategic Competition

Thursday, February 9, 2023

By: Bruce W. MacDonald ;   Carla Freeman, Ph.D. ;   Alison McFarland

Recent defense white papers published by the Chinese government refer to outer space as the “commanding heights” in international strategic competition, and the United States has explicitly identified space as a warfighting domain. While current strains in the US-China relationship have made managing potential conflict in space difficult, it is not impossible. This report identifies several areas in which the United States and China, as two of the world’s three most formidable space powers, urgently need to foster greater communication and cooperation.

Type: Special Report

Global Policy

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