China's civilian army : the making of wolf warrior diplomacy

China's civilian army The making of wolf warrior diplomacy

Peter Martin

Book - 2021

"China's Civilian Army tells the story of China's transformation from an isolated and impoverished communist state to a global superpower from the perspective of its diplomats. In the early days of the People's Republic, diplomats were highly-disciplined, committed communists who feared revealing any weakness to the threatening capitalist world. Remarkably, the model that revolutionary leader Zhou Enlai established continues to this day despite the massive changes the country has undergone in recent decades. Even today, Chinese diplomats work in pairs so that one can always watch the other for signs of ideological impurity. China's Civilian Army charts the history of China's diplomatic corps from its earliest d...ays through to the present, drawing on the memoirs of more than a hundred retired diplomats and dozens of interviews"--

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Subjects
Diplomatic and consular service, Chinese > History.
China > Foreign relations administration > History.
China > Foreign relations > 1949-
Published
New York, NY : Oxford University Press [2021]
Language
English
Main Author
Peter Martin (author)
Physical Description
viii, 298 pages ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780197513705
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • 1. The Founder
  • 2. Shadow Diplomacy
  • 3. War by Other Means
  • 4. Chasing Respectability
  • 5. Between Truth and Lies
  • 6. Diplomacy in Retreat
  • 7. Selective Integration
  • 8. Rethinking Capitalism
  • 9. The Fightback
  • 10. Ambition Realized
  • 11. Overreach
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Martin, a political reporter for Bloomberg News, traces Chinese Communist diplomacy from caution in Yan'an to Xi Jinping's assertiveness. Zhou Enlai founded the foreign ministry, calling diplomats "soldiers in civilian clothing" and centralizing and disciplining them into insecure rigidity, the style they adhere to today. Zhou's first diplomats knew nothing of the outside world or diplomacy, producing awkward mistakes. Chinese diplomats do not bargain or negotiate but repeat threatening talking points. Achieving little, their messages are not for foreigners but for Beijing, which monitors their fealty and punishes deviation. The catastrophic Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Tiananmen massacre left them mute. Martin argues that compartmentalization, bullying, fear, and rigidity still hinder Chinese diplomacy. The foreign ministry, never powerful in Beijing, is now a mere adjunct to expansionist institutions that proffer financial and trade inducements to join the Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing believes that as the US weakens, China inexorably rises. The book implicitly cautions against expecting diplomacy with China to yield large, durable results. Drawing from little-known memoirs and articles, many in Chinese, Martin's book complements Rush Doshi's The Long Game (CH, Sep'22, 60-0286). A good read, usable for higher-level courses and a crucial warning for practitioners. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals. --Michael G. Roskin, emeritus, Lycoming College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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