Defending Taiwan
A Strategy to Prevent War with China
Taiwan is where the uneasy peace between the United States and China will be tested--and possibly broken.
Beijing believes that "reunification" is inevitable. American military strength has preserved peace and stability for decades, but its advantages are eroding. Beijing has found critical gaps in U.S. strategy and is working to squeeze, isolate, and coerce Taiwan into submission without firing a shot. If deterrence fails, the consequences of a Taiwan crisis would be catastrophic--plunging the global economy into chaos, shattering U.S. alliances, and allowing China to dominate the region and reshape the world order.
In Defending Taiwan, Eyck Freymann presents the first integrated strategy to deter war with China and preserve an honorable peace. Drawing on untranslated Chinese sources, cutting-edge military and economic analysis, and deep historical research, Freymann argues that Washington's deterrence strategy must extend beyond conventional military power and familiar threats of mutually assured destruction. America must work with allies to develop a bold new vision of technological and economic statecraft--and a plan to secure its interests if deterrence fails. Freymann examines China's full range of strategic options. The United States can deter them all. But to do so, it must integrate its military strength, economic leverage, technological leadership, and diplomatic influence into a single, coherent plan to prevent war.
This is not just a book about Taiwan. It is a grand strategy to ensure lasting stability in the U.S.-China relationship. Defending Taiwan is the definitive guide to the world's most dangerous geopolitical challenge.
The Arsenal of Democracy
Technology, Industry, and Deterrence in an Age of Hard Choices
The essential guide to a complex challenge.
The US military stands at a moment of profound risk and uncertainty. China and its authoritarian partners have pulled far ahead in defense industrial capacity and are fielding emerging defense technologies that put US forces at risk. To deter a devastating war with China, America must rally its allies to build a new arsenal of democracy. But achieving this goal swiftly, in a time of strained budgets, requires hard choices.
Arsenal of Democracy is the first book to integrate military strategy, industrial capacity, and emerging tech into a comprehensive deterrence framework. Other books explain why deterrence matters; this book is the essential guide to how to sustain deterrence through the 2030s. From undersea warfare and logistics to outer space, it breaks down how the US deterrence system works and shows how it must adapt.
Even if America leads technologically, China's industrial strengths would give it advantages in a protracted conflict. Congress, industry, and allied governments must work together to expand production and integrate new technologies. This balanced, comprehensive, and actionable book offers critical solutions for policymakers, investors, and technologists.
Selected Reviews
"By far the best guide to deterring and, if necessary, prevailing in a naval and air conflict in the Indo-Pacific. For policymakers, practitioners, and pundits alike . . . the touchstone for what lies ahead."
— Gary Roughead, Admiral, US Navy (Retired), former Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, US Pacific Fleet
"We ignore this book's lessons at our peril."
— Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
"Sweeping, erudite, and highly readable, combining historical expertise, technological savvy, and solid military analysis [with] many smart and specific policy recommendations."
— Michael O'Hanlon, Phil Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy, Brookings Institution; author of the forthcoming To Dare Mighty Things: US Defense Strategy Since the Revolution
"The cupboard is bare, and deterrence is at risk. Freymann and Halem have given policymakers, technologists, and investors the essential guide to restocking our arsenal in an age of rapid technological change."
— Michael Brown, Partner, Shield Capital, and former Director, Defense Innovation Unit, US Department of Defense
One Belt One Road
Chinese Power Meets the World
Assigned as required reading at Harvard, Cambridge, Columbia, Peking University, and other leading universities.
Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative has become the largest infrastructure program in history, with China spending hundreds of billions overseas. Using sources in Chinese and four other languages, Eyck Freymann reveals that infrastructure projects are just a sideshow—OBOR is fundamentally a campaign to restore an ancient tribute system with Xi as a modern-day emperor.
Through groundbreaking archival research and on-the-ground case studies from Malaysia to Greece, Freymann shows China isn't preying on victims but attracting willing partners, including Western allies. Even where megaprojects fail, and countries find themselves drowning in debt, Beijing’s strategy is working.
Policy Impact: definitive analysis provides essential strategic insights for understanding China's global ambitions and offers clear recommendations for the United States and its allies to compete for influence across the developing world.
Selected Reviews
"The definitive study of the Belt and Road."
— Niall Ferguson, Hoover Institution
"Essential reading... corrects misunderstandings and provides coherent recommendations that will preserve America's competitive advantages."
— LTG H.R. McMaster (Ret.), Former National Security Advisor
"A provocative conclusion that requires Western policymakers to think again."
— Graham Allison, Harvard Kennedy School
“Freymann’s monograph provides a public service.”
— Kathleen A. Walsh, U.S. Naval War College
“Eyck Freymann is our guide, and his beautifully written book escorts us by land and sea to Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Greece, and beyond . . . As the Michelin Guide notes when it awards three stars: this book ‘is worth a special journey.’
— William C. Kirby, Harvard Business School