Leadership, Factional Politics and China’s Civil-Military Dynamics: Post-17th Party Congress Patterns

Jagannath P. Panda

Archive data: Person was Research Fellow at MP-IDSA till March 2022 Dr. Jagannath Panda was a Research Fellow and Coordinator of the East Asia Centre at MP-IDSA, New Delhi. He… Continue reading Leadership, Factional Politics and China’s Civil-Military Dynamics: Post-17th Party Congress Patterns read more

This article highlights the changing dynamics of relations between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army under the current leadership. While the military in China still remains politically loyal to the Communist Party, specification of the role of the military in the Chinese Constitution, generational changes in the CCP, factional politics, and relative depoliticization of the military are some of the factors suggesting a ‘bifurcation’ between the party and the military. In short, the identity of the Chinese military has gone beyond the normal Party-controlled one; and this is essentially because of the increasing importance of the state vis-a-vis its elements and leadership.