Bio
Nicholas Bequelin is a distinguished scholar and practitioner of human rights, with a focus on East and Southeast Asia. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris and a M.A. in Chinese Studies from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO).
Bequelin began his career in Hong Kong as China Researcher for Human Rights Watch, later serving as Senior Researcher in its Asia Division. He went on to lead Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific program, overseeing regional human rights strategy and advocacy across the region.
His writings have appeared in both scholarly and mainstream outlets, including The China Journal, China Quarterly, The New York Times, and Foreign Policy.
Currently, Bequelin is a Senior Fellow and Researcher in Law at Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center. His research explores the economic drivers of rights violations under authoritarian regimes and the role of technology—particularly AI—in shaping regime competition between autocratic and democratic states.