Strong Borders, Secure Nation

M. Taylor Fravel is associate professor of political science and member of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Professor M. Taylor Fravel . . . has made a valuable contribution to Princeton Studies in International History and Politics. . . . His impeccable research helps in correcting false notions, for instance, on China's boundary agreement with Pakistan on March 2, 1963."---A. G. Noorani, Frontline --- "How China handles the issue of Taiwan is going to offer a significantly novel framework for international studies over territorial sovereignty disputes. Fravel has provided a plethora of historical details and sophisticated explanations for these diplomatic events, and has produced a highly readable book."---Yuk Wah Chan, Journal of Chinese Political Science --- "This book makes a refreshing change, both for its theoretical and empirical rigour and in its balanced coverage."---Jonathan Sullivan, Political Studies Review --- "Fravel offers an important interpretation of China's behaviour, based on what it has actually done in the last six decades. . . . The book will help many trying to decide whether China will be a disruptive or a positive international force in the years to come."---Kerry Brown, Asian Affairs --- "[T]his book is an unqualified welcome addition to the still comparatively sparse academic literature on China's territorial disputes and security perceptions."---Chien-Peng Chung, Contemporary Southeast Asia --- "The book is not only a necessary work for everyone dealing with Chinese politics, but also it deserves to become a new standard for the study of international politics in general."---Bart Dessein, International History Review --- "This is a tour de force work of scholarship that is comprehensive, empirically rich and analytically strong. . . . For anyone who works on contemporary China, this book will be an indispensible reference volume."---Andrew Scobell, Pacific Affairs --- "M. Taylor Fravel . . . provides compelling evidence that in its territorial disputes China has been less prone to violence and more cooperative than realist theory or conventional wisdom about an expansionist state might suggest."---David Rosenberg, China Journal --- "This comprehensive, compelling volume by Fravel seeks to address the overstated concerns that China might be prone to violent conflict over territory."---S.K. Ma, Choice --- "Fravel's is an elegant argument that works well to explain Chinese behavior and holds promise for application elsewhere."---Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs