Areas of Expertise: China; Asia and the Pacific; International Political Economy; Deterrence; Nuclear Policy; Missile Defense; German (Conversant); Mandarin (Fluent)
Dr. Phillip C. Saunders is Director of the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs. He has been a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies since January 2004. Dr. Saunders served as Director of Studies for the Center for Strategic Research from 2010-12, with responsibility for supervising the Center’s research on regional, global, and functional security issues.
Dr. Saunders previously worked at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where he served as Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program from 1999-2003 and taught courses on Chinese politics, Chinese foreign policy, and East Asian security. He has conducted research and consulted on East Asian security issues for Princeton University and the Council on Foreign Relations and previously worked on Asia policy issues as an officer in the United States Air Force.
Dr. Saunders is co-author with David Gompert of The Paradox of Power: Sino-American Strategic Restraint in an Era of Vulnerability (NDU Press, 2011) and co-editor with Andrew Scobell of PLA Influence on China’s National Security Policymaking (Stanford University Press, 2015). He has also edited NDU Press books on Chinese contingency planning, China-Taiwan relations, the Chinese Navy, and the Chinese Air Force. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on China and Asian security issues in journals such as International Security, China Quarterly, The China Journal, Survival, Asian Survey, International Studies Quarterly, Pacific Review, Orbis, Asia Policy, and Joint Forces Quarterly.
Selected Publications
Books:
- Andrew Scobell, Arthur S. Ding, Phillip C. Saunders, and Scott W. Harold, eds., The People’s Liberation Army and Contingency Planning in China (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2015).
- Phillip C. Saunders and Andrew Scobell, eds., PLA Influence on China’s National Security Policymaking (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2015).
- Richard P. Hallion, Roger Cliff, and Phillip C. Saunders, eds., The Chinese Air Force: Evolving Concepts, Roles, and Capabilities (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2012).
- David C. Gompert and Phillip C. Saunders, The Paradox of Power: Sino-American Strategic Restraint in an Age of Vulnerability (Washington, DC: NDU Press, 2011).
- Phillip C. Saunders, Christopher Yung, Michael Swaine, and Andrew Nien-Dzu Yang (eds.), The Chinese Navy: Expanding Capabilities, Evolving Roles (Washington, DC: NDU Press, 2011)
- Roger Cliff, Phillip Saunders, and Scott Harold, eds., Cross-Strait Relations: New Opportunities and Challenges for Taiwan’s Security (Washington, DC: RAND, 2011).
Publications:
- Phillip C. Saunders, “Implications: China in the International System,” in Roy Kamphausen and David Lai, eds., The Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2025 (Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2015), pp. 301-333.
- Phillip C. Saunders, “The Rebalance to Asia: U.S.-China Relations and Regional Security,” INSS Strategic Forum, No. 281, August 2013.
- Mark E. Redden and Phillip C. Saunders, “Managing Sino-U.S. Air and Naval Interactions: Cold War Lessons and New Avenues of Approach,” China Strategic Perspectives, No. 5, September 2012.
- Scott L. Kastner and Phillip C. Saunders, “Is China a Status Quo or Revisionist State? Leadership Travel as an Empirical Indicator of Foreign Policy Priorities,” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 56. No. 2 (June 2012), pp. 163-177.
- David C. Gompert and Phillip C. Saunders, “Sino-American Strategic Restraint in an Age of Vulnerability,” INSS Strategic Forum, No. 273, January 2012.
- Phillip C. Saunders and Joshua Wiseman, “Buy, Build, or Steal: China’s Quest for Advanced Military Aviation Technologies,” China Strategic Perspectives, No. 4, December 2011.
- Michael Kiselycznyk and Phillip C. Saunders, Civil-Military Relations in China: Assessing the PLA’s Role in Elite Politics, China Strategic Perspectives, No. 2, August 2010.
- Phillip C. Saunders and Michael Kiselycznyk, Assessing Chinese Military Transparency, China Strategic Perspectives, No. 1, June 2010.