Carl Minzner

Senior Fellow For China Studies

Expert Bio

Carl Minzner is senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is also a professor at Fordham Law School, specializing in Chinese politics and law. He is the author of End of an Era: How China's Authoritarian Revival Is Undermining Its Rise (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Minzner has published numerous articles on Chinese politics and governance in academic publications including China Quarterly, Asia Policy, American Journal of Comparative Law, Journal of Democracy, China Leadership Monitor, as well as opinion pieces in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Christian Science Monitor, among others.

Prior to teaching at Fordham, Minzner was an associate professor at the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis. He served as a CFR international affairs fellow from 2006 to 2007. From 2003 to 2006, he was senior counsel at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, where he monitored, reported, and advised on rule-of-law and human rights issues in the People’s Republic of China for both Congress and the executive branch. He has served as a Fulbright Scholar (2019–20), a fellow in the public intellectuals program at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (2011–13), a Yale–China Association legal education fellow at the Northwest Institute of Politics and Law in Xi’an (2002–03), as a law clerk for the Honorable Raymond Clevenger of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2001–02), and as a teacher with Volunteers in Asia in Tainan (1994–95).

Minzner received a BA in international relations from Stanford University, an MIA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and a JD from Columbia Law School. He is a member of the California bar.

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Explore More on China

China

Religion in China

A significant proportion of China’s population claims to follow a religion. However, the government continues to toughen oversight, increase persecution of some religions, and attempt to co-opt state-sanctioned religious organizations.

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors May 15, 2024

Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Freedoms: What China Promised and How It’s Cracking Down

Beijing has tightened its grip on Hong Kong in recent years, dimming hopes that the financial center will ever become a full democracy.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland and Clara Fong March 19, 2024

China

The China-North Korea Relationship

China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner and arguably has the most leverage over Kim Jong Un’s regime. Analysts say Beijing’s policies are focused on stability, though it signals ambivalence about its neighbor’s nuclear arms advances.

Backgrounder by Clara Fong and Eleanor Albert March 7, 2024

Expert Bio

Media Inquiries

Explore More on China

Top Stories on CFR