"Chinese Foreign Policy Decisionmaking: A Review of the Literature" - Tyler Jost

Every action in Chinese foreign policy is the outcome of a decision. From high-level decisions regarding China’s strategic alignment to tactical implementation decisions regarding how military campaigns and diplomatic negotiations unfold, decisionmaking—the process by which actors choose between different possible behaviors—is foundational to every aspect of China’s international behavior. How can scholars study decisionmaking in China? Much of the existing scholarship has tended to examine Chinese foreign policy decisionmaking in one of two ways. One tradition, what I term pass-through models, treats decisionmaking as a methodological technique that incidentally sheds light on broader questions of Chinese foreign policy behavior. A second tradition, what I term idiosyncratic models, treats decisionmaking as a self-contained object of inquiry. In this line of work, the primary aim is simply to describe the decisionmaking process, such as the participatory actors, organizations, and interactions between them over a period of time. While both traditions are important building blocks in the study of Chinese foreign policy, each overlooks how process and interaction between Chinese decisionmakers might shape behavior—what I term process-centric models. The remainder of this review essay is divided into three sections. The first section discusses pass-through and idiosyncratic models. The second section discusses the process-centric alternative and several possible ways to organize such a model. The third section turns to future directions for scholarship, with an emphasis on process-centric approaches.

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Chinese Foreign Policy Decisionmaking: A Review of the Literature - Tyler Jost

Tyler Jost is Assistant Professor of Political Science, International & Public Affairs and Watson Institute Assistant Professor of China Studies. His research focuses on national security decision-making, bureaucratic politics, and Chinese foreign policy. Dr. Jost’s current book project examines domestic institutions designed to decide and coordinate national security policy, such as the U.S. National Security Council. Dr. Jost completed his doctoral degree in the Department of Government at Harvard University. He has held postdoctoral fellowships in the International Security Program at the Kennedy School of Government, as well as in the China and the World Program at Columbia University. His research has been supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.

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