I recently published an article in International Security on China’s military strategy, entitled “Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China’s Changes in Military Strategy.”

The article contains three main points:

1. China has adopted nine military strategies since 1949, or what the PLA calls “strategic guidelines.”
2. The strategies adopted in 1956, 1980 and 1993 represented major changes in the PLA’s approach military strategy, requiring significant organizational change.
3. China has pursued major changes in its military strategy in response to shifts in warfare in the international system, but only when the CCP is united and delegated responsibility for military affairs to the PLA’s senior officers.

The article is a teaser for a much longer book on the subject, Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy Since 1949, which will be published in early 2019.

Read the article here.