Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy
Since 1949, China has adopted nine national military strategies, known as “strategic guidelines.” The strategies adopted in 1956, 1980, and 1993 represent major changes in China's military strategy, or efforts by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to wage war in a new way. Shifts in the co...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
MIT Press - Journals
2018
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118865 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5831-8949 |
| _version_ | 1826190092791709696 |
|---|---|
| author | Fravel, Maris Taylor |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science Fravel, Maris Taylor |
| author_sort | Fravel, Maris Taylor |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Since 1949, China has adopted nine national military strategies, known as “strategic guidelines.” The strategies adopted in 1956, 1980, and 1993 represent major changes in China's military strategy, or efforts by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to wage war in a new way. Shifts in the conduct of warfare in the international system offer one explanation for why China, a developing country for most of this period, pursued major change in its military strategy. Such shifts in the conduct of warfare should be especially powerful if a gap exists between a state's current strategy and the requirements of future warfare. The PLA has only been able to change strategy, however, when the Chinese Communist Party leadership is united and agrees on basic policies and the structure of authority. When the party is united, it delegates substantial responsibility for military affairs to the PLA leadership, which changes or adjusts military strategy in response to changes in China's security environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:34:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/118865 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:34:55Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | MIT Press - Journals |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1188652022-09-30T09:46:38Z Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy Fravel, Maris Taylor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science Fravel, Maris Taylor Since 1949, China has adopted nine national military strategies, known as “strategic guidelines.” The strategies adopted in 1956, 1980, and 1993 represent major changes in China's military strategy, or efforts by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to wage war in a new way. Shifts in the conduct of warfare in the international system offer one explanation for why China, a developing country for most of this period, pursued major change in its military strategy. Such shifts in the conduct of warfare should be especially powerful if a gap exists between a state's current strategy and the requirements of future warfare. The PLA has only been able to change strategy, however, when the Chinese Communist Party leadership is united and agrees on basic policies and the structure of authority. When the party is united, it delegates substantial responsibility for military affairs to the PLA leadership, which changes or adjusts military strategy in response to changes in China's security environment. 2018-11-05T12:56:19Z 2018-11-05T12:56:19Z 2018-01 2018-10-17T16:14:03Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0162-2889 1531-4804 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118865 Fravel, M. Taylor. “Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China’s Changes in Military Strategy.” International Security 42, no. 3 (January 2018): 37–83. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5831-8949 http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/ISEC_A_00304 International Security Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf MIT Press - Journals MIT Press |
| spellingShingle | Fravel, Maris Taylor Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy |
| title | Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy |
| title_full | Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy |
| title_fullStr | Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy |
| title_short | Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy |
| title_sort | shifts in warfare and party unity explaining china s changes in military strategy |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118865 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5831-8949 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fravelmaristaylor shiftsinwarfareandpartyunityexplainingchinaschangesinmilitarystrategy |