Recent Publications

Chinese Lessons from Other Peoples’ Wars
November 1, 2011 — Authors: Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr David Lai, Dr Andrew Scobell The importance of China stems not only from its current international role and its influence on the Asia-Pacific region in particular, but also because China’s impact on global developments will likely continue to grow. One of our enduring imperatives is to accurately survey China’s... MORE

The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China’s Military
June 1, 2010 — Authors: Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr David Lai, Dr Andrew Scobell The chapters presented in this volume have demonstrated first, Chinese and PLA leaders have a strong sense of mission and concern for China’s security and well-being. Second, the PLA is committed to the transformation in military affairs with Chinese characteristics. Third, the PLA is... MORE

Beyond the Strait: PLA Missions other than Taiwan
March 1, 2009 — Author: Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr David Lai, Dr Andrew Scobell SSI and NBR conducted a book launch event for this book. Audio is available on the NBR site.While preventing independence likely remains the central aim of the PLA vis-a-vis Taiwan, Chinese foreign policy objectives worldwide are rapidly growing and diversifying. This volume analyzes the... MORE

The “People” in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China’s Military
August 1, 2008 — Authors: Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr Andrew Scobell, Mr Travis Tanner This volume represents the latest in the series published by the Strategic Studies Institute and describes the advances and reforms the PLA has made in its recruitment, officer and NCO training and education, and mobilization. As part of its larger reform effort to modernize and... MORE

Projecting Pyongyang: The Future of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il Regime
March 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Andrew Scobell The author seeks to assist planners and decisionmakers in thinking about and preparing for possible future contingencies concerning North Korea. He does not dwell on war or conflict scenarios involving North Korea because military planners have already focused considerable effort and attention on these. It is entirely... MORE

Right Sizing the People’s Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China’s Military
August 1, 2007 — Author: Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr Andrew Scobell This volume addresses how the leadership of China and the PLA view what size of PLA best meets China’s requirements. Among other things, this analytical process makes important new contributions on the question of PLA transparency, long an issue among PLA watchers. A great deal of emphasis has been put... MORE

North Korea’s Military Threat: Pyongyang’s Conventional Forces, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Ballistic Missiles
April 1, 2007 — Author: Capt (USN) John M Sanford, Dr Andrew Scobell North Korea's conventional capabilities have eroded but remain significant, including its sizeable contingent of special operations forces. Meanwhile, Pyongyang continues the vigorous development of its nuclear and missile programs, and has ongoing chemical and biological weapons programs... MORE

Shaping China’s Security Environment: The Role of the People’s Liberation Army
October 1, 2006 — Authors: Dr Andrew Scobell, Dr Larry M Wortzel This volume addresses the role of the Chinese military in shaping its country’s security environment. The PLA itself is shaped and molded by both domestic and foreign influences. In the first decade of the 21st century, the PLA is not a central actor in China’s foreign policy the way it was just a few... MORE

Kim Jong Il and North Korea: The Leader and the System
March 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Andrew Scobell In the first decade of the 21st century, few national security challenges facing the United States is as vexing as that posed by North Korea. It is a paradox because it appears to be a very powerful state—possessing the world's fourth largest armed forces, a sizeable arsenal of ballistic missiles, and a worrying nuclear... MORE

Chinese National Security: Decisionmaking Under Stress
October 1, 2005 — Authors: Dr Andrew Scobell, Dr Larry M Wortzel This volume represents the fruits of a conference held at the U.S. Army War College in September 2005 on the theme of "Chinese Crisis Management." One of the major debates that emerged among participants was whether all the case studies under examination constituted crises in the eyes of China's... MORE

North Korea’s Strategic Intentions
July 1, 2005 — Author: Dr Andrew Scobell Dr. Andrew Scobell examines the topic of Pyongyang's strategic intentions. He first identifies a broad spectrum of expert views and distills this wisdom into three "packages" of possible strategic intentions. He then sets out to test which package appears to reflect actual North Korean policy. While he opines that one is... MORE

It’s Asia (Again)
January 1, 2005 — Author: Dr Andrew Scobell Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the January 2005 newsletter.Read Now MORE