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M. Taylor Fravel
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Active Defense: China's Military Strategy since 1949 (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics Book 167) Kindle Edition

by M. Taylor Fravel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 80 ratings

What changes in China’s modern military policy reveal about military organizations and strategy

Since the 1949 Communist Revolution, China has devised nine different military strategies, which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) calls “strategic guidelines.” What accounts for these numerous changes? Active Defense offers the first systematic look at China’s military strategy from the mid-twentieth century to today. Exploring the range and intensity of threats that China has faced, M. Taylor Fravel illuminates the nation’s past and present military goals and how China sought to achieve them, and offers a rich set of cases for deepening the study of change in military organizations.

Drawing from diverse Chinese-language sources, including memoirs of leading generals, military histories, and document collections that have become available only in the last two decades, Fravel shows why transformations in military strategy were pursued at certain times and not others. He focuses on the military strategies adopted in 1956, 1980, and 1993—when the PLA was attempting to wage war in a new kind of way—to show that China has pursued major change in its strategic guidelines when there has been a significant shift in the conduct of warfare in the international system and when China’s Communist Party has been united.

Delving into the security threats China has faced over the last seven decades, Active Defense offers a detailed investigation into how and why states alter their defense policies.

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  1. Part of series
    Princeton Studies in International History and Politics
  2. Print length
    387 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    April 23, 2019
  6. File size
    15.0 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"2019 War on the Rocks Holiday Reading List"

Review

"The first book to provide a comprehensive history of China’s military doctrine as it has evolved since the founding of the People’s Republic."―Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs

"A classic that is likely to have great long-term influence."―Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Book Post

"An outstanding contribution to the canon on Chinese military and strategic affairs."―James Mulvenon, China Quarterly

"Rich in context and history."―Ankit Panda, War on the Rocks

"Active Defense confirms Fravel’s standing as one of the top experts on China's national security strategy."―Karl Eikenberry, Stanford University and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan

"Anyone interested in the implications of China’s rise should read this book."―Thomas J. Christensen, author of The China Challenge

"Active Defense is a brilliant tour de force on the sources of stasis and change in Chinese military strategy."―Caitlin Talmadge, Georgetown University

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07JPJ35JY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (April 23, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 23, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 15.0 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 387 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 80 ratings

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M. Taylor Fravel

M. Taylor Fravel

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4.6 out of 5 stars
80 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • david sorenson
    5.0 out of 5 stars a masterpiece of strategic studies
    Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Even a really good book rarely deserves to be called a "masterpiece." This one does. M. Taylor Fravel has written one of the most important works on changes in Chinese military strategy in many decades. He combs through original documents and writings by Chinese strategy-makers to analyze why Chinese military strategy changes over time. He finds that while changes in threat perception and estimation do impact military strategic change, so do changes in Communist Party alignment. So in 1964, the change in strategy in depth was a much due to Mao trying to ward off Party reformers as it was in response to the American involvement in neighboring Vietnam. It is also important to note that each change in Chinese military strategy never shifted from defensive to offensive emphasis. That point should be pondered for those fearing that China is about to project its military power throughout the region.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Writing Historian
    4.0 out of 5 stars For what is covered, it is very good.....
    Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Maybe I made a mistake by not looking inside the book. I normally choose them based on intuition. In this case, I ended up being disappointed. Not because of what the author wrote, but because of what he did not cover. Unless I was terribly wrong, I could find no detailed narrative on the period 1950 - 1955. The chapters skip from Before 1949 to the Chinese adoption of a new defense strategy.

    So its good - but if you wanted to find out more about the Korean war and Chinese aid to the Vietminh prior to and leading up to Dien Bien Phu, I would recommend obtaining other sources (I ended up buying "Building Ho's Army" which does talk a bit about Korea.)
    13 people found this helpful
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