Civil-military relations in China : assessing the PLA's role in elite politics / by Michael Kiselycznyk and Phillip C. Saunders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kiselycznyk, Michael

Contributor:

Saunders, Phillip C. (Phillip Charles), 1966-

National Defense University. Center for Strategic Research

Series:

China strategic perspectives (National Defense University. Institute for National Strategic Studies) ; 2.

Institute for National Strategic Studies China strategic perspectives ; no. 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

China. Zhongguo ren min jie fang jun--Political activity.

China.

China. Zhongguo ren min jie fang jun.

Civil-military relations--China.

Civil-military relations.

China--Politics and government--1949-.

China--Armed Forces--Political activity.

Political leadership--China.

Political leadership.

Armed Forces--Political activity.

Political participation.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (v, 41 pages).

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : National Defense University Press, [2010]

Summary:

This study reviews the last 20 years of academic literature on the role of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Chinese elite politics. It examines the PLA's willingness to support the continued rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and to obey directives from top party leaders, the PLA's influence on the selection of China's top civilian leaders, and the PLA's ability to shape the domestic political environment. Over the last two decades the discussion of these three issues has largely been shaped by five trends identified in the literature: increasing PLA professionalism, bifurcation of civil and military elites, a reduced PLA role in political institutions, reduced emphasis on political work within the PLA, and increased military budgets. Together, these trends are largely responsible for the markedly reduced role of the PLA in Chinese elite politics. Based on this assessment, we conclude that existing models serve a useful role in identifying key variables for analysis in the study of Chinese civil-military relations. However, most of the literature has been descriptive and interpretive rather than predictive. The widespread practice of using elements of multiple models to analyze civil-military relations makes it difficult to assess the validity of individual models or to generate falsifiable predictions, thus limiting the predictive ability of current models. Although China is a much more open society today, lack of reliable information continues to make the study of civil-military relations in China difficult, forcing analysts to rely on indirect evidence and dubious sources to speculate about the military's influence on elite politics and about the relationships between top civilian and military leaders.

Contents:

Introduction

Five key trends in civil-military relations

Theoretical models

Cases

Conclusion

Future directions.

Notes:

Title from title screen (viewed Aug. 20, 2010).

"August 2010."

"Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 30-39).

Other Format:

Print version: Kiselycznyk, Michael. Civil-military relations in China

OCLC:

657170013