About the Book
With a focus on the economic battlefront and in-depth analysis of the diplomatic, military, and ideological arenas, the world's foremost expert on US-China global competition offers a rousing, strategic call to action and playbook-harvesting all of our nation's ingenuity, confidence, and will power-to outcompete the long-term strategies of China and its Communist Party.
In The Decisive Decade, Dr. Jonathan D.T. Ward-China scholar and founder of the Atlas Organization, a consultancy focused on US-China global competition-offers a comprehensive framework for how the United States can, and must, defeat China on the world stage economically, diplomatically, militarily, and ideologically. International security and American supremacy are at stake-and now is the time for the US to take action.
China's global power and influence grows every day. Working from a deep sense of national identity, the Chinese Communist Party is leading its country toward what it deems "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation," and executing a long-term Grand Strategy to topple over its chief adversary, the United States. As China becomes increasingly repressive domestically and aggressive overseas, it threatens to upend America's global dominance at every turn.
Ward provides novel and practical strategies that our government, as well as our businesses and our citizens, can utilize to undermine our adversary. Exhaustive campaigns in the economic, diplomatic, military, and ideological arenas, he argues, must be taken to achieve victory.
With expert analysis of the history of US-China relations, as well as insight into how the Russia-Ukrainian war can inform our strategic thinking, The Decisive Decade presents a unique toolkit for our triumph over China. We can succeed, but it won't be easy; it will take all of our nation's ingenuity, confidence, and willpower to win.
About the Author :
Dr. Jonathan D. T. Ward has been studying the rise of China for over a decade. From travels with truck caravans in Tibet and across the South China Sea by cargo ship in his early twenties, to accessing now-sealed Communist Party archives while a PhD candidate at Oxford, to consulting for the US Department of Defense and Fortune 500 organizations, he has brought the experience of a traveler, the discipline of a scholar, and the insight of a strategy consultant to US-China relations. Dr. Ward is the founder of Atlas Organization, a consultancy focused on the rise of India and China, and on US-China global competition. He speaks Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic. He lives in Washington, DC.
Review :
“The Decisive Decade is cautionary and optimistic. Ward shows a path for America and the Free World to win the contest with the Chinese Communist Party. He calls for rebuilding American economic, industrial, and technological might and identifies the technologies, industries, countries, and regions that are most consequential. This book is a call to action for all, but especially for business executives. Just as American military officers plan and execute the combat missions to win battles, corporate officers must plan and execute business strategies that enhance our security, promote prosperity, and help the Free World prevail in the most consequential competition of this century.
—From the Foreword by Lt. General H.R. McMaster (US Army, Ret.), Former US National Security Advisor
“Building upon his groundbreaking work, China’s Vision of Victory, Jonathan Ward lays out a comprehensive American grand strategy for competition with China in The Decisive Decade. Dr. Ward shows the critical role of economic power in US strategy both in our past victories and in our present competition with China. His exploration of the crucial role of American business and finance in strategic competition, the conversion of economic might into military power, and his global vision of a revitalized American-led order all ring urgent and true. The Decisive Decade should be read by both parties in Congress, as well as in American boardrooms, in Allied governments, and across the United States. This is the first book-length effort to show us how to flat out win this contest with the People’s Republic of China.”
—Senator Jon Kyl
“The Decisive Decade is a wake-up call to all Americans. Jonathan Ward offers not only a diagnosis of the urgent problem but also a prescription for future success if we act now. Mobilizing America’s key strengths, especially our economic dynamism and global alliance system, can enable us to create the world we want to leave our grandchildren.”
—Mike Brown, Former Director, Defense Innovation Unit, US Department of Defense; Former CEO, Symantec Corporation
“The Decisive Decade is the clearest, most coherent and comprehensive articulation of the breadth and depth of our existential challenge with China and the means to a solution. A rare compendium of the diverse threats—economic, diplomatic, and military—and the need for a decades-long government and business world commitment to a campaign. This is not just the Cold War redux. It is more and it is multi-dimensional. Jonathan Ward makes it clear that superlatives and declarations in national and defense security strategies have not and will not be enough. The call to action is for Washington, Silicon Valley, and Wall Street.”
—Admiral Jonathan Greenert (US Navy, Ret.), Former Chief of US Naval Operations
“Jonathan Ward has written a stimulating and provocative account of the US-China relationship in the coming few years, with data and statistics that will help inform readers, particularly on the US-China business relationship. Whatever your conclusions may be about these issues, you will find plenty to make you think in this lively and engaging book.”
—Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, University of Oxford
“In The Decisive Decade, Ward reminds us that America and its allies have all the tools necessary to defend liberty against Beijing’s hollow despotism. The ingredient urgently needed now, which Ward has in spades, is the will to act.”
—Matt Pottinger, Former US Deputy National Security Advisor
“An insightful analysis of one of the most important geopolitical relationships in the 21st century. Ward builds upon his exposition of the Chinese Communist Party strategy that guides the rise of China and presents a compelling course of action for the United States.”
—John W. Garver, author of China’s Quest: The History of the Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China
“With The Decisive Decade, Jonathan Ward offers a diagnosis and a prescription. The industrial base which has made the United States so powerful since Pearl Harbor must be redesigned and reinvigorated to guarantee our continuing success against rising challenges—like the Chinese Communist Party. Prevailing will require a network approach between the public and private sectors that prioritizes competition, balance, innovation, human talent, and the power of our capital markets. This book is an excellent blueprint.”
—General Joseph L. Votel (US Army, Ret.), President and CEO of Business Executives for National Security; Former Commander, US Special Operations Command
?From past work, China’s Vision of Victory:
"The extraordinary rise of China is unprecedented in world history and the biggest geopolitical development of the first two decades of the 21st Century; it is likely to continue to be so for decades to come. Jonathan Ward is very well qualified to document China's extraordinary growth, and he describes it superbly in China's Vision of Victory, a powerful work that is sure to provoke thought and serious reflection."
—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former commander of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and US Central Command, and former Director of the CIA ?
"Jonathan Ward has provided an eye-opening analysis of China's strategic ambitions. He effectively demolishes the longstanding expectation in Washington that a prosperous rising China will be content to integrate itself into the Western international order—to the contrary, he demonstrates that Beijing's objectives include nothing less than renovating that order to serve China's own strategic interests. As the United States debates the future of its China policy, China's Vision of Victory deserves the widest reading."—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ? ?
"Dr. Ward tells an absorbing and well-researched story about China's grand strategy to achieve 'supremacy among all nations' by 2049 and the role of Western capital in fueling China's rise. China's Vision of Victory is a must-read for Western policy makers, intelligence agencies, chief executives, global investors, and globally-minded thinkers. It is a real-life page-turner, if ever there was one."—J. Kyle Bass, Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management
"Jonathan Ward is a young scholar with not only all the necessary linguistic and travel credentials, but with something even more important, a vision of history rooted in geography that allows him to espy the future."—Robert D. Kaplan, author of Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power
?"I've long admired Jonathan's determination to get to the truth, on the ground. It is rare to find someone able to combine politics, philosophy, linguistic expertise and hard travel—and bring it to bear on some of the toughest issues of our generation—Jonathan is one of those remarkable people."
—Rory Stewart, author of The Places in Between and The Prince of Marshes
?"This book is a very timely Master Class on China. Everyone with a keen interest in China's political, military and economic policy, past and present, should study this book carefully. Jonathan Ward's gimlet-eyed analysis and prescriptive recommendations should be taken to heart by all."
—Jack Devine, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (Ret.), author of Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story
?"China's Vision of Victory is insightful, compelling, and long overdue. Whether your interest is business, economics, diplomacy, or politics, Jonathan Ward's assessments and analysis are on target. More importantly, his book will help you understand the complexity and interconnection of all facets of America's relations with China. Jonathan has given us a new take on the many challenges we face in addressing Chinese power and its relationship with the world."
—Admiral Scott H. Swift US Navy (Ret.), Commander of US Pacific Fleet, 2015-2018
"Stimulating."
—The Financial Times
?"It's sobering stuff. We're left to hope that there's a whole lot of people like you on the home team."
—Brian Williams, The 11th Hour
