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Taylor Fravel

@fravel.bsky.social
3.6K followers 456 following 31 posts

Studying China's foreign and security policies and director of MIT's Security Studies Program

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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Great opportunity to join @ssp-mit.bsky.social and conduct research on China's foreign and security policies!
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
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-...
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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 03/09/2025
“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.”
fam.ag
Is China’s Military Ready for War?
What Xi’s purges do—and don’t—mean for Beijing’s ambitions.
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Caitlin Talmadge @proftalmadge.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
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!
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
“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...
foreignaffairs.com
Is China’s Military Ready for War?
What Xi’s purges do—and don’t—mean for Beijing’s ambitions.
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
New essay on purges in China’s armed forces and its impact on operational readiness www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas...
foreignaffairs.com
Is China’s Military Ready for War?
What Xi’s purges do—and don’t—mean for Beijing’s ambitions.
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
A wonderful tribute to @ssp-mit.bsky.social's dear colleague, Owen Cote networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org
H-Diplo|RJISSF Tribute to the Scholarship and Legacy of Owen R. Coté, Jr. | H-Net
H-Diplo | Robert Jervis International Security Studvies ForumTribute to the Scholarship and Legacy of Owen R. Coté, Jr.
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ChinaPower @chinapower.csis.org · 22/03/2025
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:
bit.ly
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…
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
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.
"I learned with concern that a French researcher" on assignment for the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) "who was traveling to a conference near Houston was denied entry to the United States before being expelled ," said the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Philippe Baptiste, in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP). "This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher's phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy ," he added
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
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
academic.oup.com
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
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Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
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...
kffhealthnews.org
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...
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
What could possibly go wrong
nytimes.com
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 ...
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
“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👇🏽
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Risa Brooks @risabrooks12.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
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
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Oppsies!
cnn.com
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.
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
“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.”
washingtonpost.com
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.
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Great opportunity!
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
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...
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Great analysis by Evan Medeiros
on.ft.com
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
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Great opportunity for recent or soon to be college graduates
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
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)
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Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations @penn-us-china.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
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
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Great opportunity!
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Trump Taps Ex-Senator David Perdue for Ambassador to China
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
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...
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
More big news …. Miao Hua, current member of the CMC in charge of political work is under investigation on.ft.com/3ARpY4t
on.ft.com
China probes top officer discipline ‘violations’
Investigation into Miao Hua takes Xi Jinping’s purge of military to its highest echelons
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Perhaps explains why Dong was not added to the state CMC in March or the party CMC in June
on.ft.com
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
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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
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.
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Now accepting applications!
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Now accepting applications!
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Security Studies Program MIT @ssp-mit.bsky.social · 25/10/2024
"How will the military balance of power in East Asia evolve over the next decade amid growing and intensifying competition between the United States and China?" SSP's @fravel.bsky.social & Eric Heginbotham examine this question and more in their chapter for the latest Carnegie Endowment volume.
carnegieendowment.org
U.S.-China Relations for the 2030s: Toward a Realistic Scenario for Coexistence
It has become difficult to imagine how Washington and Beijing might turn their relationship, which is so crucial to the future of world order, toward calmer waters. If there is to be any hope of doing...
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 23/05/2024
Chinese military exercises around Taiwan have started… english.news.cn/20240523/2e8...
english.news.cn
PLA conducts joint military drills surrounding Taiwan Island
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 31/12/2023
My biggest discovery in 2023? ChatBots are great for looking recipies
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 01/12/2023
Really great article well worth your time
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 10/11/2023
New essay with @henrihi82 (Henrik Hiim) and @langset_an (Magnus Troan) in @ForeignAffairs that draws on our earlier @Journal_IS article on China’s changing nuclear posture www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas...
foreignaffairs.com
China’s Misunderstood Nuclear Expansion
How U.S. strategy is fueling Beijing’s growing arsenal.
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 02/11/2023
A small but important step toward a U.S.-China nuclear dialogue www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
wsj.com
China, U.S. to Meet for Rare Nuclear Arms-Control Talks
Washington meeting comes as concerns grow over an arms race with Beijing and Moscow
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Bonnie Glaser @bglaser.bsky.social · 29/10/2023
My first post. My op-ed published in the NYT today. I lay out the reasons why a PRC attack on Taiwan is unlikely in the near term and what needs to be done to preserve the peace in the years ahead. Constructive critiques welcome. www.nytimes.com/2023/10/29/o...
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 28/10/2023
Biden-Xi meeting update www.wsj.com/world/u-s-ch...
wsj.com
U.S., China Agree in Principle to Biden-Xi Summit
Meeting offers chance to reboot ties amid divisiveness over Taiwan, technology and, lately, the Middle East
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 27/10/2023
Xinhua posts Li Keqiang's official obituary. Last two paragraphs are quite interesting (and downplayed in shorter English version), via Apple Translate: www.news.cn/politics/202...
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 19/10/2023
2023 China military report released (pdf) media.defense.gov/2023/Oct/19/...
media.defense.gov
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 17/10/2023
New article in The Washington Quarterly (@TWQgw) on the diplomatic, military, and economic lessons China may be learning from the war in Ukraine for a potential conflict over Taiwan. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
China’s Potential Lessons from Ukraine for Conflict over Taiwan
Published in The Washington Quarterly (Vol. 46, No. 3, 2023)
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 27/09/2023
Are you/do you know an early career researcher (ABD/postdoc) interested in conflict forecasting, maritime security, and climate change? We're looking for you! Fantastic opportunity to work with the World Wildlife Fund on a cool project – PM me to learn more. And yes, we pay :-) Spread the word.
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Laia Balcells @laiabalcells.bsky.social · 27/09/2023
Security Studies Tenure-line position (Open Rank) at Georgetown: apply.interfolio.com/132869
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Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social · 19/09/2023
Blue sky, indeed!
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