A Look at the PLA's History of Planning for War with Taylor Fravel
Jaw-Jaw
How does China think about the nature of war? How has China’s conception of war changed over time? What are “military guidelines” in Chinese statecraft and what leads the Chinese leadership to develop new ones? These and other questions are discussed in the latest episode of Jaw-Jaw, where Professor Taylor Fravel discusses his recent book . Biographies Taylor Fravel is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and member of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor is a graduate of Middlebury College and Stanford University,...
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Peter Mattis on the Intentions of the Chinese Communist Party
Jaw-Jaw
What threat does a revisionist China pose to the United States and democratically minded states around the world? Where should we look to find out the intentions of the Chinese Communist Party? If left unchecked, will China export its illiberal form of government? These and other questions are explored in this week’s episode of Jaw-Jaw. For a full transcript of this interview, click . Biographies Peter Mattis is a Research Fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and a contributing editor at War on the Rocks. He was a Fellow in the China...
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Minxin Pei Predicts a Cold War Lite Between the U.S. and China
Jaw-Jaw
The United States and China are headed for a “cold war lite,” says Minxin Pei. What does this exactly mean? And what threat does China present to the U.S. that would necessitate such a confrontational posture? Can China transition to a less export-driven economy or will its growth inevitably slow? What are the root causes of corruption in China? Is Xi’s anti-corruption campaign successful? These and other questions are explored in this week’s episode of Jaw-Jaw. If you'd like a transcript of this episode, please click . Biographies is the Tom and Margot Pritzker ’72...
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When it Comes to China, America Doth Protest Too Much, David Kang Thinks
Jaw-Jaw
Is East Asia balancing against a rising China? No way, says David Kang. Is China’s island-building a unique provocation? Not at all, says Kang. Does the world have anything to fear from a powerful China? Not really, and, indeed, a weak China is the greater threat to world order. Listen to the “unconventional perspective” of Professor David Kang in the latest episode of Jaw-Jaw. If you'd like to read a transcript click . Biographies is Maria Crutcher Professor in International Relations, Business and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California, with...
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Melanie Hart on Finding Common Ground, While Competing with China
Jaw-Jaw
What is China’s vision of a reformed system of global governance? And how can the United States and China find common ground, while still competing with one another? How can the United States limit China’s ambitions, and what is the best way to prevail in this international rivalry? These questions – and many more – are addressed in the new episode of Jaw-Jaw! If you'd like a transcript of this episode, please click . Biographies is a senior fellow and director for China Policy at the . Dr. Hart’s research focuses primarily on China’s domestic political trends,...
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Aaron Friedberg on Asking the Right Questions About Chinese Ambitions
Jaw-Jaw
What are China’s grand ambitions? Did the United States get China “wrong”? And what policies should the United States adopt against a newly assertive China? What Western strategists are on the Chinese Communist Party’s reading list? Professor Aaron Friedberg and Brad Carson discuss these issues and much more in the new episode of “Jaw-Jaw.” If you'd like to read a full transcript of the episode, click . Biographies is professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1987, and co-director of the . He is also a...
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The Geo-Economic Challenge of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Jaw-Jaw
What exactly is China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? What is the place of BRI in Xi Jinping’s foreign policy? What countries are involved in this massive project, and what is the likelihood that the grandest ambitions of BRI will be realized? Is China actually not a maritime power, but, rather, an aspiring continental power? Nadège Rolland and Brad Carson discuss these issues and much more in the new episode of “Jaw-Jaw.” If you'd like to read a full transcript of this episode, click . Biographies is senior fellow for at . Her research focuses mainly on China’s...
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China's Great Power Disease
Jaw-Jaw
How does the logic of strategy apply to China? Is China an "autistic" nation? How did the Obama Administration acquit itself on China policy (hint: not well!)? And why should you not bother reading any contemporary books on China? These and many more provocative questions form the basis of the new edition of Jaw-Jaw. If you'd like to read a full transcript of this episode, click . Biographies Edward Luttwak is a political scientist known for his works on grand strategy, military history, and international relations. He is the author of a number of books, including Strategy: The...
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How Chinese Sharp Power Takes Aim at American Democracy
Jaw-Jaw
As Chinese power grows, the Larry Diamond, the renowned scholar of democracy, breaks down Beijing’s efforts to direct “sharp power” against democratic institutions in the United States. The key battleground appears to be American educational institutions and China’s main instrument is its United Front Work Department, a critical part of the Communist Party apparatus that aims to enlist, coerce, and induce support for the party around the world. The department’s efforts involve intimidation of Chinese and ethnic Chinese students in the West, corrupting and non-transparent funding to...
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How America Got China Wrong
Jaw-Jaw
How did American analysts seem to get China so “wrong”? Why wasn’t there more of a debate until fairly recently inside the halls of power? What concerns drove the Obama administration’s China policy? What would a Chinese-led international order look like? Ely Ratner discusses these issues and many more in the fifth episode of “Jaw-Jaw.” If you'd like to read a full transcript of this episode, click . Biographies is the former deputy national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, and he currently is Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the . His...
info_outlineHow does China think about the nature of war? How has China’s conception of war changed over time? What are “military guidelines” in Chinese statecraft and what leads the Chinese leadership to develop new ones? These and other questions are discussed in the latest episode of Jaw-Jaw, where Professor Taylor Fravel discusses his recent book Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy Since 1949.
Biographies
Taylor Fravel is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and member of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor is a graduate of Middlebury College and Stanford University, where he received his PhD. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the International Studies Quarterly, Security Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, and the China Quarterly, and is a member of the board of directors for the National Committee on U.S. - China Relations. He is also the Principal Investigator of the Maritime Awareness Project.
Brad Carson is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he teaches in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-2005 and was Undersecretary of the Army and acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness in the Obama administration. He welcomes comments at [email protected].
Links
- National Defense University, "Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms," (2019)
- David Edelstein, "Over the Horizon: Time, Uncertainty, and the Rise of Great Powers," (Cornell University Press, 2017)
- Carl Minzner, "End of an Era: How China's Authoritarian Revival is Undermining Its Rise," (Oxford University Press, 2018)