Party-Army Relations in China: Retrospect and Prospect

1996 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 299-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Joffe
Keyword(s):  
Central Force ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Chinese Politics ◽  
Power Struggle ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
The Military ◽  
Near Future

It is axiomatic among observers that in the transition to the post-Deng era, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will play a pivotal role. This is understandable. Until now, the army has been a central force in Chinese politics owing to the unique Party-army relationship that has existed since the founding of the Communist regime. Although this relationship will change in the near future, the importance of the military will not: they will remain indispensable backers of the new leadership. This is because they command the forces which may be used to determine the outcome of an elite power struggle, displace rebellious local figures, put down a mass uprising or even carry out a coup.

scholarly journals Civil-Military Relations in China: Party-Army or National Military?

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 10-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Shambaugh
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Leadership Transition ◽  
Chinese Politics ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
The Future ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

This article examines the changing dynamics of relations between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). It argues that while the PLA remains politically loyal to the CCP, there is evidence of important changes in the institutional relationship between the two institutions. The partyarmy relationship is no longer as intertwined and symbiotic as it has historically been; rather, this article argues that there is evidence of a 'bifurcation' between the two. The catalysts for this change have been the professionalization and relative depoliticization of the military, as well as the leadership transition in the CCP. These changes raise important and central issues for the future of Chinese politics.*

The Evolving Role of the Military in China’s COVID-19 Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Nan LI
Keyword(s):  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
Military Support ◽  
Civilian Leadership ◽  
The Military

The fear of political vulnerability stemming from an over-reliance on the military for containing COVID-19 led the civilian leadership to deploy the level and type of military support that were deliberately measured and technically specialised; the timings of this support were also carefully planned. The concern about COVID-19 causing significant infections among PLA (People’s Liberation Army) ranks that may hamper PLA response to the perceived external security challenges also proved to be premature.

Xi Jinping Overhauls the People’s Liberation Army

2016 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 68-78
Author(s):  
Lance L P GORE
Keyword(s):  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
Power Projection ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
American Model ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Military

The overhaul of the People’s Liberation Army will move it away from its Soviet-style command and control structures towards the American model, which is believed to be more adapted to the new security environment and facilitates long distance power projection to protect China’s far-flung national interest abroad. The Communist Party’s organisational presence is reaffirmed to ensure the loyalty of the military as the Party considers it the ultimate source of its power and final defence of its rule.

The New Officer Corps: Implications for the Future

1996 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 315-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
June Teufel Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Deng Xiaoping ◽  
Officer Corps ◽  
General Staff ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
The Future ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
The Military

In early 1975, in a speech to the cadres of the headquarters of the General Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Deng Xiaoping delivered his blueprint for the military of the future. The radical restructuring of the military and its officer corps that it entailed was purportedly proposed by Mao Zedong himself. However, the fact that the speech was not made public until 1983, allegedly because it had been suppressed by the Gang of Four, makes it more likely that the architect of the reorganization, with its far-reaching implications for the PLA's officer corps, was Deng himself. Two decades later, at the close of the Deng era, it is important to examine the thrust of this document in assessing trends for the officer corps of the future.

Xi Jinping's Generals

2014 ◽  
Vol 06 (04) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
Zhiyue BO
Keyword(s):  
Support Group ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Vice Chairman ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Future ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
The Military ◽  
Commander In Chief

Since he became commander-in-chief in November 2012, Xi Jinping has promoted altogether 11 generals in three batches. The promotion of the third batch came in the shadow of expelling Xu Caihou, former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and Politburo member, from the Party. In the future, Xi Jinping will have to strike a balance between the anti-corruption campaign in the military and the establishment of a core support group in the People's Liberation Army.

scholarly journals Laser Challenge of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (10) ◽  
pp. 939-942
Author(s):  
Victor V Apollonov
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Chinese Leader ◽  
National Defense ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Innovative Technologies ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
The Military ◽  
People's Congress

Chinese President Xi Jinping, at a meeting with delegates of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) during the last session of the National People's Congress (NPC), demanded the introduction of scientific discoveries and innovative technologies in the army. Xi Jinping noted that new technologies are the key to modernizing the Armed Forces. The Chinese leader discussed with the military how to achieve the goals set in the field of national defense and army development and the implementation of the 13th five-year plan for the development of the armed forces. It is safe to say that Laser Weapons (LW) are on the agenda of China/1/

The People's Liberation Army and the People's Republic at 50: Reform at Last

1999 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 660-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Shambaugh
Keyword(s):  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
North West ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
South West ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
Territorial Claims ◽  
The Military

The People's Republic of China (PRC) may not have had the opportunity to celebrate 50 years of statehood had it not been for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) – nor, for that matter, is it likely that the PRC would have come into existence in the first place were it not for the PLA (as is evident in Mao's often-cited observation that, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun!”). As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rode the military to power in 1949, the army also subsequently acted on several occasions to rescue the regime, maintain the Party in power and ergo sustain the People's Republic. The PLA has also been the designated protector of “state sovereignty” and “unifier” of China – acting to incorporate Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and border regions in the south-west and north-west during the early 1950s, and fighting several border wars against China's neighbours thereafter – and it is the PLA that is ultimately charged with ensuring both that Taiwan does not seek “independence” and that China's territorial claims in the East and South China Seas are protected.

State-run celebration of Liberation Day in Czechoslovakia (based on audiovisual sources)

2019 ◽  
pp. 251-268
Author(s):  
Timur Gimadeev
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Military

The article deals with the history of celebrating the Liberation Day in Czechoslovakia organised by the state. Various aspects of the history of the holiday have been considered with the extensive use of audiovisual documents (materials from Czechoslovak newsreels and TV archives), which allowed for a detailed analysis of the propaganda representation of the holiday. As a result, it has been possible to identify the main stages of the historical evolution of the celebrations of Liberation Day, to discover the close interdependence between these stages and the country’s political development. The establishment of the holiday itself — its concept and the military parade as the main ritual — took place in the first post-war years, simultaneously with the consolidation of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Later, until the end of the 1960s, the celebrations gradually evolved along the political regime, acquiring new ritual forms (ceremonial meetings, and “guards of memory”). In 1968, at the same time as there was an attempt to rethink the entire socialist regime and the historical experience connected with it, an attempt was made to reconstruct Liberation Day. However, political “normalisation” led to the normalisation of the celebration itself, which played an important role in legitimising the Soviet presence in the country. At this stage, the role of ceremonial meetings and “guards of memory” increased, while inventions released in time for 9 May appeared and “May TV” was specially produced. The fall of the Communist regime in 1989 led to the fall of the concept of Liberation Day on 9 May, resulting in changes of the title, date and paradigm of the holiday, which became Victory Day and has been since celebrated on 8 May.

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