Carla Freeman

Carla Freeman is Senior Lecturer for International Affairs and Director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Previously she served as a Senior Expert for China at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a role that followed more than a decade as a member of the faculty and staff of JHU SAIS. She has also been the Library of Congress Kluge Chair for China and a Peace Scholar at USIP. She held previous academic and non-profit positions and was a political risk analyst for several years. A key experience that encouraged her to pursue a career following international relations and China policy was serving as a "junior Science Officer" at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

She completed her B.A. in Southeast Asia and History at Yale University, a certificate in Chinese language studies at Beijing Language & Culture University, and a certificate in political science from Sciences Po in Paris. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. from SAIS, writing her dissertation on the political economy of reform in China and the challenges posed to its heavily industrialized Northeast region. Current projects include a book with a working title China and the Strategic New Frontiers.