C&WP Book 'China's Quest for Military Supremacy' - by alum Joel Wuthnow
China’s military has entered a new era. It has acquired modern weapons to rival the world’s finest, undergone a major restructuring under Xi Jinping, and been on the frontlines of territorial disputes with Japan, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It is readying forces to be able to seize Taiwan sometime in the next decade. International concerns about China’s intentions have been piqued by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine―many are now asking ‘will Taiwan be next?’ Yet the People’s Liberation Army’s ambitions are even greater. It aims to be a “world-class” military on par with the United States.
China’s Quest for Military Supremacy provides a broad and accessible exploration of Chinese military power, including relations between the Chinese Communist Party and its army, the strategic worldview of Chinese leaders, military strategy and resourcing, force structure and modernization across all the domains, military diplomacy and coercive activities, preparations for war, and the emerging global role for the People’s Liberation Army. It also identifies constraints on China’s military progress from tensions between the party and the army to limited expertise in modern (“joint”) operations, alongside maneuvering by the United States and others to deter Chinese aggression. Moreover, China’s focus on military supremacy regionally means that it currently lacks the capabilities and infrastructure needed to operate with the same lethality beyond Asia. Different futures are possible, and the book concludes with a preview of what it might take for a truly “world-class” Chinese military to take the global stage.
China's Quest for Military Supremacy 1st Edition by Joel Wuthnow (Author), Phillip Saunders (Author)
Dr. Joel Wuthnow is a senior research fellow in the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs within the Institute for National Strategic Studies at NDU. His research areas include Chinese foreign and security policy, Chinese military affairs, U.S.-China relations, and strategic developments in East Asia. In addition to his duties in INSS, he also serves as an adjunct professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
His recent books and monographs, all from NDU Press, include Gray Dragons: Assessing China's Senior Military Leadership (2022), Crossing the Strait: China's Military Prepares for War with Taiwan (2022, lead editor), The PLA Beyond Borders: Chinese Military Operations in Regional and Global Context (2021, lead editor), System Overload: Can China's Military Be Distracted in a War over Taiwan? (2020), and Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms (2019, co-editor). His research and commentary has also appeared in outlets such as Asia Policy, Asian Security, China Leadership Monitor, The China Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Joint Force Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Journal of Strategic Studies, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Naval War College Review, and in edited volumes.
Prior to joining NDU, Dr. Wuthnow was a China analyst at CNA, a postdoctoral fellow in the China and the World Program at Princeton University, and a pre-doctoral fellow at The Brookings Institution. His degrees are from Princeton University (A.B., summa cum laude, in Public and International Affairs), Oxford University (M.Phil. in Modern Chinese Studies), and Columbia University (Ph.D. in Political Science). He is proficient in Mandarin.
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