News + Media

 
Taylor Fravel

In the News

August 4, 2022

China's show of force & fury: Military drills encircling Taiwan, explained

Lizzi LeeSupChina

Taylor Fravel analyzes the significance of the ongoing military drills surrounding Taiwan launched by PLA. Fravel explains the transformation the PLA has undergone since the 1990s, and how that change could potentially change Xi Jinping's strategic calculus on Taiwan. 

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping reviews an honor guard

In the News

August 4, 2022

What China wants from these war-games

Omar DuwajiThe World

Chinese officials warned that there would be a response if Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. But what does Beijing want from these military maneuvers near the island of Taiwan? Host Marco Werman speaks with Taylor Fravel from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program.

In the News

August 2, 2022

Forceful China response to Pelosi could backfire

Chou Shih-wei and Ken ChaoFocus Taiwan

Quoted: "US-based China researcher M Taylor Fravel said Monday that a forceful show by Beijing in response to a reported visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi could backfire. Fravel, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said on Twitter that with the People's Liberation Army approaching the peak of its annual training, China will likely convey its discontent with live-fire exercises in a larger scale, and even with incursions across the median line of Taiwan Strait for days if not weeks."

Ukraine tank and troops.

Analysis + Opinion

July 30, 2022

Ukraine needs solutions, not endless war

Steven Simon and Jonathan StevensonNational Interest

In the Russo-Ukrainian War, neither side seems inclined to talk to the other at this point. But one of the purposes of diplomacy is to probe adversaries’—and allies’—intentions in a crisis

Shinzō Abe in front of Japanese flag

Analysis + Opinion

July 28, 2022

After Abe, Japan tries to balance ties to the US and China

Richard J SamuelsThe Wall Street Journal

Shinzo Abe left the stage at a critical moment for Japanese decision makers. Richard Samuels' latest opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. 

Carol Saivetz on NECN

In the News

July 25, 2022

War in Ukraine entering sixth month

Sue O'ConnellNECN

Sue O’Connell spoke with Carol Saivetz from the MIT Security Studies Program about a new deal struck to resume grain exports and worries over Russian gas supplies as the war enters its sixth month.

In the News

July 11, 2022

Ukraine war: Is Russian defeat nothing but a 'fantasy'?

Barry R PosenDW News

Barry R Posen, Ford International Professor of Political Science at MIT, speaks on DW News about the Ukraine war and his analysis of possible outcomes. 

In the News

July 10, 2022

What the world can learn from South Africa

David GoodmanVTDigger

“At this time when the idea of democracy is under assault, South Africa shows us that (democracy) is still a really promising and probably our best political solution, particularly in diverse societies,” says Evan Lieberman in a recent interview. Lieberman offers a fresh take on South Africa’s journey to democracy in his new book, "Until we have won liberty: South Africa after apartheid."

PM Shinzo Abe during a 2015 visit to MIT

Analysis + Opinion

July 8, 2022

CIS mourns the loss of Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan

Richard SamuelsCenter for International Studies

It is with tremendous sadness and alarm that a senseless act of political violence claimed the life of former prime minister Shinzo Abe on July 8 while he was speaking at a political campaign event for the Liberal Democratic Party in the city of Nara in western Japan. We join the Japanese people in mourning their loss, and send our condolences to the Abe family.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kyiv, July 2022 Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Reuters

Analysis + Opinion

July 8, 2022

Ukraine’s implausible theories of victory

Barry PosenForeign Affairs

The Ukrainian and Western theories of victory have been built on weak reasoning. At best, they are a costly avenue to a painful stalemate that leaves much Ukrainian territory in Russian hands. If this is the best that can be hoped for after additional months or years of fighting, then there is only one responsible thing to do: seek a diplomatic end to the war now.

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