R. Evan Ellis

Expertise: Latin American Studies with a focus on the region’s relationships with China and other non-Western Hemisphere actors.

Dr. Evan Ellis is a research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute with a focus on the region’s relationships with China and other non-Western Hemisphere actors.

Dr. Ellis has published over 130 works, including the 2009 book China in Latin America: The Whats and Wherefores, the 2013 book The Strategic Dimension of Chinese Engagement with Latin America, and the 2014 book, China on the Ground in Latin America.

Dr. Ellis has presented his work in a broad range of business and government forums in 25 countries. He has given testimony on Chinese activities in Latin America to the US Congress on multiple occasions, and has discussed his work regarding China and other external actors in the region on a broad range of radio and television fora, including CNN International, CNN En Español, The John Bachelor Show, Voice of America, and Radio Marti.  His work on the subject is cited regularly in the print media in the U.S. and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Ellis holds a PhD in political science with a specialization in comparative politics.

July 19, 2021

Vaccine Diplomacy in Latin America, Caribbean a PR Coup for China

The COVID-19 pandemic has created multiple opportunities for the People’s Republic of China to advance its commercial position and influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The most significant, in the short term, has been China’s vaccine diplomacy. Over a million people in the region have died from COVID-19 since the virus was first detected in the region in February 2020. That death count, according to the Pan American Health Organization, is about 75 percent more than in the United States, which has registered a similar number of infections.

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August 03, 2021

How China Helps the Cuban Regime Stay Afloat and Shut Down Protests

My new article, co-authored with Leland Lazarus.  It focuses on the PRC role in keeping Cuba's repressive regime alive, and helping to undercut recent protests and isolate Cubans from the international democratic community, through China's role in having built much of Cuba's modern internet and phone system.  It further examines how China's role in Cuba is illustrative of how the PRC is indirectly advancing authoritarianism and populism in the region as it pursues its economic and other interests.

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August 11, 2021

Mexico: A Deepening Crisis and Strategic Challenge for the US

My recently published article on the deteriorating security and economic situation in Mexico and the implied strategic challenges for the US and the region.

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September 03, 2021

DiDi and the Risks of Expanding Chinese E-Commerce in Latin America

This is my newest work on the Chinese rideshare company DiDi, and the broader risk of expanding Chinese eCommerce in Latin America.  

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September 08, 2021

9/11, Latin America, and the Impermanence of Strategic Concepts

An essay on how 9/11 altered the trajectory of the US relationship with Latin America. 

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Expert Information

Expertise

Latin American Studies with a focus on the region’s relationships with China and other non-Western Hemisphere actors.

Location

Washington D.C.

Experience

Current Experience

research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute

Past Experience

  • Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Associate Professor, William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies
  • Adjunct Professor, University of Miami
  • Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton

Education

  • PhD, Political Science, Purdue University