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Andrew S. Erickson China's rapid development is reshaping the world in all dimensions. Chinese language open sources offer insights into these critical trends. While such materials are increasing constantly in number, diversity, and sophistication, only a fraction is available in English. The analyses available here, many based on sources not previously considered outside China, are designed to help bridge that gap--and thereby increase understanding of the most dynamic great power in the international system today.

27 October 2011

Can China Defend a ‘Core Interest’ in the South China Sea?

Toshi Yoshihara & James R. Holmes, “Can China Defend a ‘Core Interest’ in the South China Sea?” The Washington Quarterly 34.2 (2011): 45-59.
Déjà vu surrounds reports that Beijing has claimed a ‘‘core interest’’ in the South China Sea. High-ranking Chinese officials reportedly asserted such an interest during a private March 2010 meeting with two visiting […]

27 October 2011

Crisis Instability and US-China Relations: The Present (If Not Clear) Danger

Avery Goldstein, “Crisis Instability and US-China Relations: The Present (If Not Clear) Danger,” paper presented at American Political Science Association 2011 Annual Meeting.
Two concerns have driven much of the debate about international security in the post Cold War era. The principal concern has been the potentially deadly mix of nuclear proliferation, rogue states, and international […]

27 October 2011

China’s Petroleum Predicament: Challenges and Opportunities in Beijing’s Search for Energy Security

Andrew B. Kennedy, “China’s Petroleum Predicament: Challenges and Opportunities in Beijing’s Search for Energy Security,” in Jane Golley and Ligang Song, eds., Rising China: Global Challenges and Opportunities (Canberra and Beijing: Australian National University and Social Sciences Academic Press, 2011), 121-136.
If China’s rise is one of the most important stories of this new century, China’s […]

22 October 2011

Chinese Navy Hospital Ship Visits Cuba, Caribbean

Jeff Franks, “Chinese Navy Hospital Ship Visits Cuba, Caribbean,” Reuters, 22 October 2011.
HAVANA (Reuters) – A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark sailed on Friday into Havana Bay in Cuba, reflecting good relations between the communist allies and China’s expanding global presence.
The 580-foot (178 meters) ship was met by Cuban naval officials in […]

19 October 2011

Profiled with Other “Current Geopolitical Scholars” in Geopolitics: A Guide to the Issues

Bert Chapman, Geopolitics: A Guide to the Issues (Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues) (New York: Praeger, 2011).
“Current Geopolitical Scholars”
“A number of scholars representing classical and critical geopolitical perspectives are influencing this discipline’s research and analysis while representing disciplinary fields such as geography, history, international economics, military science, and political science.”
Scholars profiled include Thomas P.M. […]

19 October 2011

Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge

Adam Segal, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011).
As the United States struggles to emerge from recession, India and China’s continued robust growth is the subject of much interest and concern. In his new book, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge, Council […]

19 October 2011

China’s Rise in Historical Perspective

Brantly Womack, ed., China’s Rise in Historical Perspective (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010).
“Stimulating and elegant. This unique book purposefully blends insightful historical analyses and strong present-day commentaries, placing core elements of the phenomenon of contemporary China into very meaningful contexts. This welcome and long-overdue approach will assist a broad readership that seeks to understand both where […]

19 October 2011

The Politics of Nuclear Weapons in South Asia

Bhumitra Chakma, The Politics of Nuclear Weapons in South Asia (London: Ashgate, 2011).
An important and critical re-evaluation of South Asia’s post-tests nuclear politics, in contrast to other books, this volume emphasises the political dimension of South Asia’s nuclear weapons, explains how the bombs are used as politico-strategic assets rather than pure battlefield weapons and how […]

19 October 2011

A Skeptic’s Case for Nuclear Disarmament

Michael E. O’Hanlon, A Skeptic’s Case for Nuclear Disarmament (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2010).
In 2007 two former U.S. secretaries of state, a defense secretary, and a former senator wrote persuasively in the Wall Street Journal that the time had come to move seriously toward a nuclear-free world. Almost two years later, the Global Zero […]

19 October 2011

The International Politics of the Asia Pacific: Third and Revised Edition (Politics in Asia)

Michael Yahuda, The International Politics of the Asia Pacific: Third and Revised Edition (Politics in Asia) (New York: Routledge, 2011).
This fully revised third edition of Michael Yahuda’s extremely successful textbook brings the region fully up-to-date, introducing students to the international politics of the Asia-Pacific region since 1945, assessing the post-cold War uncertainties that challenged balance […]

19 October 2011

Somalia: The New Barbary?: Piracy and Islam in the Horn of Africa

Martin N. Murphy, Somalia: The New Barbary?: Piracy and Islam in the Horn of Africa (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011).
Somali piracy is repeatedly associated with the historical specter of barbary. The world now fears Somalia has taken on its mantle by becoming a safe haven for terrorists wishing to wreak havoc on civilized societies. […]

19 October 2011

The “People” in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China’s Military

Roy Kamphausen, Andrew Scobell, and Travis Tanner, eds., The “People” in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China’s Military (Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College and National Bureau of Asian Research, 2008).
This volume represents the latest in the series published by the Strategic Studies Institute and describes the advances and reforms the PLA has […]

19 October 2011

Nuclear Proliferation in Northeast Asia: The Quest for Security

Andrew O’Neill, Nuclear Proliferation in Northeast Asia: The Quest for Security (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
The core principle underlying the strategy of nonproliferation – acceptance of a two tier international nuclear order – has become unsustainable. Policy makers and those in the academic world need to turn their attention to exploring new proliferation management strategies […]

15 October 2011

China Expands its Military Reach

Bradley Perrett, “China Expands its Military Reach,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, 14 October 2011.
How far is China’s military reach? The answer depends on what it wants to do. A Chinese warship deployed to the Mediterranean this year, so, by that yardstick, global reach is at hand. But the isolated ship only supported civilian evacuations […]

14 October 2011

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #48: “Transparency is Not Just for the Military: Improved commodity data reporting from China good for Chinese and global consumers alike”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Transparency is Not Just for the Military: Improved Commodity Data Reporting from China Good for Chinese and Global Consumers Alike,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 48 (14 October 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Just last week, the China Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Association estimated the country’s copper reserves at year-end 2010 to have been […]

13 October 2011

One Ocean, Two Shades: Perceptions about the Indian Ocean

/luce.nt/ was established in 2010 as a forum to advance thinking and to promote dialogue in an online symposium for policy makers, scholars, and practitioners within the international security community “on all questions relating to war and to statesmanship connected with war, or the prevention of war.” The thoughts and opinions expressed in this online […]

13 October 2011

MIT Security Studies Program Launches Nuclear Security Fellows Program

With the generosity of the Stanton Foundation, the MIT Security Studies Program is starting a new Nuclear Security Fellows Program for junior faculty as well as pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scholars. Nuclear security is defined broadly to include nuclear terrorism, nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation, nuclear weapons, nuclear doctrine and force structure, and nuclear energy as it […]

13 October 2011

Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program (CWP) Now Accepting Applications

Having served as a Fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program (CWP, 中国国与世界研究项目) from 2010-11, I cannot endorse it more strongly. It offers entrée into just the community of specialists that I had always dreamed of joining when I decided to become a China scholar—serious but interesting intellectuals who contribute to the theoretical, […]

03 October 2011

Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles Reviewed by Book News Inc.

Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011) reviewed in “Reference & Research Book News,” Book News Inc. (October 2011), 306.
This work offers a broad overview and appraisal of recent developments in Chinese aerospace and maritime power and examines implications for the US […]