If China Attacks

As recommended by Alastair Campbell on The Rest is Politics podcast

‘One of the country’s most prominent and outspoken China scholars ... may turn out to be more of a near-future prophecy than a flight of fancy.’ — Oliver Moody, The Times

A bestseller in Germany, this chilling account shows how a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could upend world politics.

It is 2028. A Chinese fighter jet crashes in Taiwan after a risky manoeuvre. Beijing blames Taipei and launches a full-scale assault. By the time Washington responds, China has already annexed Taiwan, backed by Russia, Iran and North Korea. The US and China vie for global dominance, a Third World War looms and Western economies collapse.

Combining scenario-planning with counterfactual history, Andreas Fulda simulates the consequences of an Indo-Pacific war. Through vivid vignettes and sharply observed characters—a vacillating American president, an indecisive Japanese prime minister, diplomats, industrialists and criminals—he sheds light on today’s defining security challenge, one for which the West is unprepared.

With Beijing conducting repeated military exercises around Taiwan, The Economist has called the island ‘the most dangerous place on Earth’. Fulda argues that China can still be deterred, but only if the West acts now, including with overt military support for Taiwan.

• A bestseller in Germany and written by an expert on China-EU relations
• A call to action, offering hope that there is still time to deter China from invading Taiwan
• Uses scenario-planning techniques and counterfactual history to simulate the consequences of a war in the Indo-Pacific, a conflict for which the West is not yet prepared.