Shanshan Mei (pen name Marcus Clay) is a political scientist at RAND specializing in Chinese defense policy and Indo‑Pacific security. She previously served as Special Assistant to the 22nd Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, was a member of the Secretary of the Air Force Advisory Group, and advised three successive commanders of Pacific Air Forces on strategic competition with China. From 2020 to 2022, she taught at the Air War College, designing and delivering courses on national security and military affairs, and has lectured widely to professional and academic audiences. Mei is the author of numerous studies on the People’s Liberation Army and China’s defense modernization, with work and opinions cited by The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, and featured in War on the Rocks, The Diplomat, and the Jamestown Foundation’s China Brief. She has lived, studied, and worked in China for nearly twenty‑five years.
Ph.D. in international relations, American University; Graduate Certificate in asia pacific leadership, University of Hawaii, Manoa
