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.
Awards and Recognition
- 2019 War on the Rocks Holiday Reading List
"This is 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
"Meticulously analyzes China’s military strategy since 1945 . . . . A classic that is likely to have great long-term influence . . . . In this unstable environment, Professor Fravel’s book could hardly be timelier."—Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Book Post
"This book is an outstanding contribution to the canon on Chinese military and strategic affairs . . . . Fravel’s new book is an instant classic and a mandatory reference source. I would recommend this volume to students of Chinese foreign policy, international relations, and military affairs without reservation."—James Mulvenon, China Quarterly
"Taylor is an authority on the People’s Liberation Army, and his latest book is deeply researched and based on primary materials, providing a picture of the ways in which strategic thought in the Chinese military context has evolved over the years. It’s easy to recommend as a necessary reference volume for anyone writing on China’s contemporary approach to military affairs, rich in context and history."—Ankit Panda, War on the Rocks
"An invaluable reference with great intellectual rigor and excellent explanation of sources and methods, Active Defense belongs in a prominent place in the bookshelf of all serious students of China security issues."—Andrew S. Erickson, Journal of Chinese Political Science
"Fravel’s book is a worthwhile read. China experts and enthusiasts will find it especially compelling, as will those interested in military strategy."—Shai A. Kivity, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs
"Active Defense confirms Fravel’s standing as one of the top experts on China's national security strategy. His mastery of history, political science theory, and military doctrine is extraordinary. Given growing Sino-American competition, this is a timely work, relevant to policymakers, strategists, and scholars alike."—Karl Eikenberry, Stanford University and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
"Active Defense is a major contribution to our understanding of Chinese military doctrine. Anyone interested in the implications of China’s rise should read this book."—Thomas J. Christensen, author of The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power
"Active Defense is a brilliant tour de force on the sources of stasis and change in Chinese military strategy. Engaging and highly original, this is a must-read for scholars, analysts, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the future of international politics."—Caitlin Talmadge, Georgetown University
"This is a truly outstanding book—Fravel contributes significantly to our understanding of the evolution of China’s military strategy, and offers insightful theoretical arguments about civil-military relations and changes in the military strategy of late developers. Active Defense will be of great interest to scholars of security studies, Chinese international policy, and international relations more broadly."—Charles Glaser, George Washington University
"In Active Defense, Fravel’s explanation for three major changes in China’s military strategy since 1949 is an impressive achievement. He deftly draws on a wide range of literature about influences on military strategy and taps newly available sources of evidence. The result is a book that is sure to be widely cited."—Avery Goldstein, University of Pennsylvania
"Active Defense advances our knowledge of the key drivers behind China’s military strategy during the last seventy years. Informative and lucid, this book provides new insights into how a great power adjusts its military strategy in response to shifts in warfare and how elite politics influences strategic execution. This is the most important study of Chinese national security to appear in a decade."—Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College
"This terrific book makes an important contribution to the literature on both China’s military behavior and the more general issue of how states’ militaries evolve to meet the threats before them. The theoretical argument is simple, yet innovative, and the empirical evidence is novel and compellingly presented. It is certain to become a classic."—David M. Edelstein, Georgetown University
