Gerald C. Brown is an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. His research focuses on Chinese military and security issues, cross-strait security, and strategic deterrence. At CFR he is examining China’s military posture and the broader military and political impacts stemming from China’s evolving approach to nuclear weapons.
Before coming to CFR, Brown was an analyst with the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. There he served as a specialist on Chinese nuclear strategy, the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, military doctrine, and strategic stability and security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Prior to joining the Department of State, he conducted research and exercise analysis as a contractor supporting the Department of Defense and served in the US Air Force. His work on the Chinese military and Indo-Pacific security has informed senior U.S. and allied policymakers, and he is regularly consulted by government, academic, and press audiences on those issues. Brown holds an MA from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and is a graduate of Middlebury College’s Chinese language school.