Episode 75 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast considers the prospect of a cross-strait conflict between China and Taiwan and the asymmetric defensive capabilities that Taipei needs to stave off an invasion by the People’s Liberation Army.
Our guests begin by examining America’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity toward China and Taiwan. They then discuss the military balance of power in the Taiwan Strait, as well as the different coercive methods that Beijing has at its disposal to subjugate Taipei. Finally, the show concludes with a discussion about the policies that the United States and Taiwan can adopt to deter Chinese aggression.
Michael Brown served as the director of the Defense Innovation Unit at the Pentagon from 2018 to 2022, and he is currently a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In January of this year, Mr. Brown published an article entitled “Taiwan’s Urgent Task: A Radical New Strategy to Keep China Away,” in Foreign Affairs magazine, which serves as the anchor for today’s conversation.
Professor Larry Diamond is a world-renowned scholar of freedom and democracy. He currently serves as the William L. Clayton senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he cochairs the programs on China’s Global Sharp Power and on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region.
Ben Jebb and Ben Works are the hosts for Episode 75. Please reach out to either of them with any questions about this episode or the Irregular Warfare Podcast.
The Irregular Warfare Podcast is a production of the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI). We are a team of volunteers dedicated to bridging the gap between scholars and practitioners in the field of irregular warfare. IWI generates written and audio content, coordinates events for the IW community, and hosts critical thinkers in the field of irregular warfare as IWI fellows. You can follow and engage with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.
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