Taylor Fravel

Great opportunity to join @ssp-mit.bsky.social and conduct research on China's foreign and security policies!

SSP Director @fravel.bsky.social and Associate Professor @proftalmadge.bsky.social join the Strategic Simplicity Podcast to discuss China’s military transformation and the implications for US nuclear strategy.
🎧 strategicsimplicity.substack.com/p/part-i-of-...

Is China’s Military Ready for War? What Xi’s purges do—and don’t—mean for Beijing’s ambitions.

“Xi may well deem it necessary to fight even if the PLA is not completely prepared,” writes @fravel.bsky.social. “Since the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, China has usually gone to war when conditions appeared to be unfavorable.”

Delighted to have joined the Strategic Simplicity Podcast with @pranayrvaddi.bsky.social, @fravel.bsky.social, Austin Long, and Vipin Narang to discuss China's nuclear strategy!

Is China’s Military Ready for War? What Xi’s purges do—and don’t—mean for Beijing’s ambitions.

“Now, as then, Chinese leaders may pursue war even if the domestic economic and political conditions appear unfavorable—and even if the PLA is not ready to fight,” writes SSP Director M. Taylor Fravel (@fravel.bsky.social) for @foreignaffairs.com.

www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas...

Is China’s Military Ready for War? What Xi’s purges do—and don’t—mean for Beijing’s ambitions.

New essay on purges in China’s armed forces and its impact on operational readiness

www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas...

A wonderful tribute to @ssp-mit.bsky.social's dear colleague, Owen Cote

networks.h-net.org/group/discus...

Getting China’s Defense Spending Right | ChinaPower Project In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Taylor Fravel, Dr. George Gilboy, and Dr. Eric Heginbotham join us to discuss their recent article assessing China’s defense budget. They challenge…

Why can a direct comparison of two countries’ defense budget be misleading? @fravel.bsky.social explains: “no two countries in their published defense budgets report spending on the exact same categories.” Learn more here:

If you are visiting the United States, having a negative view of Trump is enough to get you denied entry.
If this was coming out of Russia or China, we would deplore such an authoritarian attack on freedom of expression.

Not Just Another Cold War: The Global Implications of the US-China Rivalry Abstract. This book explores how the emerging superpower rivalry between the United States and China compares to the Cold War, and what that means for the

New book alert, expertly edited by Bard Nikolas Vik Steen.

Contributors include @stephenwalt.bsky.social @arkroeber.bsky.social @brunotertrais.bsky.social @fheisbourg.bsky.social myself and many more who are not yet on this channel

academic.oup.com/book/59461

Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants - KFF Health News Two senior scientists say National Institutes of Health officials advised them to remove references to mRNA vaccines in grant applications, and they fear the Trump administration will abandon a promis...

Exclusive: NIH officials have advised scientists to remove reference to mRNA vaccines from their grant applications, in expectation the Trump administration intends to abandon most research in the field.

By @arthurallen202.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

DOGE Cuts Reach Key Nuclear Scientists, Bomb Engineers and Safety Experts Firings and buyouts hit the top-secret National Nuclear Safety Administration amid a major effort to upgrade America’s nuclear arsenal. Critics say it shows the consequences of heedlessly cutting the ...

What could possibly go wrong

“Simply put: Nuclear proliferation to both allies and adversaries dilutes the privileges of power the United States enjoys,” writes the Center for Nuclear Security Policy’s Vipin Narang and @pranayrvaddi.bsky.social with coauthor @nktpnd.bsky.social for @warontherocks.bsky.social.
Read more👇🏽

Firing General Brown and Admiral Franchetti is not a complete surprise to civmil watchers, but pulling this guy from retirement for chairman definitely is

It’s a strong signal that promotion to top positions will require complete ideological conformity from here on out

Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say | CNN Some of the fired probationary employees included on-the-ground staff at facilities where nuclear weapons are built.

Oppsies!

Musk’s DOGE agents access sensitive personnel data, alarming security officials Elon Musk’s DOGE team has accessed highly restricted data maintained by the Office of Personnel Management, including personally identifiable information for millions of federal employees.

“If I were a nation like China, Russia or Iran, I’d be having a field day with a bunch of college kids running around with sensitive federal government data on unencrypted hard drives.”

Great opportunity!

The Center for Nuclear Security Policy (CNSP) is pleased to announce that Pranay Vaddi has joined CNSP as the inaugural Senior Nuclear Fellow. @pranayrvaddi.bsky.social most recently served as special assistant to President Biden and as senior director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and...

Xi has a plan for retaliating against Trump’s gamesmanship China is marshalling its forces for long-term competition against an America that it believes is divided and in decline

Great analysis by Evan Medeiros

Great opportunity for recent or soon to be college graduates

The Center for Nuclear Security Policy at MIT is seeking Nuclear Security Junior Fellows to serve as research assistants for faculty, researchers, and fellows on topics related to nuclear security. Fellows will report to the director of the Center for Nuclear Security Policy. (1/2)

We are delighted to announce the launch of a major new initiative which draws on the approach of the Penn Project in convening, over the next 2 years, leading next generation scholars and experts on China from throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Announcement here: bit.ly/41GUPvh

Great opportunity!

Trump Taps Ex-Senator David Perdue for Ambassador to China

Final call for applications!
The Security Studies Program at MIT is accepting applications for the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows Program.

Applications are accepted through December 6, 2024. Decisions will be announced in January 2025. Information & application: ssp.mit.edu/about/fellow...

More big news …. Miao Hua, current member of the CMC in charge of political work is under investigation

on.ft.com/3ARpY4t

You are not alone!

China’s defence minister placed under investigation for corruption US officials say probe is part of wider operation to uncover graft in People’s Liberation Army

Perhaps explains why Dong was not added to the state CMC in March or the party CMC in June

Before the election, @abenewman.bsky.social and I talked about how if Trump won, our arguments would become more relevant in the grimmest fucking ways possible. Here, Jonas explains why it's likely to be worse than we expected.

Now accepting applications!