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Revising China's Strategic Culture: Contemporary Cherry-Picking of Ancient Strategic Thought

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2018

Andrea Ghiselli
Andrea Ghiselli*
Affiliation:
School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University, and Torino World Affairs Institute. Email: andrea.ghiselli@twai.it.
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Abstract

This article looks at the influence of ancient military thinkers, especially Sunzi, in Chinese strategic culture today to shed light on a critical aspect of Alastair Iain Johnston's work on strategic culture: the relationship between the foreign policy elites and the cultural artefacts and symbols at the origin of strategic culture. The empirical analysis revolves around a large number of articles published by Chinese military scholars and officers between 1992 and early 2016 in the PLA Academy of Military Science's journal, China Military Science. The conclusion is that some elements of Chinese ancient military thought are readily apparent in China's military doctrine and operations today. These elements clearly call for a realist vision of the world, especially within the PLA. Yet, the analysis also prompts reflection on how to positively engage China on non-traditional security issues.

摘要

本文梳理了中国古代军事思想家学说，特别是孙子的军事学说在当今中国战略文化中的影响力，以此对江忆恩关于战略文化的观点进行批判，即战略文化起源之初，外交政策精英与文化艺术符号的关系。实证分析围绕1992年至2016年中国军事学者和军官在解放军军事科学院《中国军事科学》上发表的大量文章。结论是，中国古代军事思想的一些要素在今天的中国军事理论和行动中是显而易见的。这些要素有着明确的现实主义世界观诉求，尤其是在解放军内部。同时，本文也对如何积极地同中国在非传统安全事务领域进行合作作出了论述。

Keywords

strategic cultureChinese military strategyChinese People's Liberation Army战略文化中国军事战略中国人民解放军
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 233 , March 2018 , pp. 166 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2018 

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