M. Taylor Fravel, Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy since 1949

Excerpt

Just in time for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and several of its military services, Fravel has delivered a tour de force. This pathbreaking volume represents political science at its best, addressing a key empirical question with tremendous policy implications: “when and why China changes its military strategy.” After laying a systematic analytical foundation with clear definitions and methodology, Fravel offers a compelling answer and explanation. Like other socialist states, with their “interlocking directorate” of political commissars and Party committees, the People’s Republic of China has not the civil-military relations common to most nations but rather Party-military relations. When the Party is united and stable, it may delegate the ability to change military strategy to senior military officers. When the Party is divided, there is no basis for changing military strategy. …