A Study On The Northern Expedition Decision-Making Of Chinese Kuomintang, 1924-1926

With an appeal to realize the unification and reestablishment of the country, the Northern Expedition in 1926 was an important strategy for Chinese Kuomintang to win the state power and construct its party system and government authority. Being a key link of national unified strategic choices venation taken by Chinese Kuomintang from the early republic of China, the decision of Northern Expedition declared publicly the introspective psychology of Chinese Kuomintang in consideration of grievous outcomes of previous revolutionary experiences. However, Kuomintang failed to solve the internal dissidences and reconcile the southern camp though on the basis of a trial of constructing Northern Expedition faith, the unfulfilled wish of the deceased Premier Sun Yat-sen. Under the circumstance of the internal factions'separation and order transitions within the camp, the debate focusing on the questions of Northern Expedition speeded up the organizational disintegration of Southern Political Alliance which indicates the political situation succession in the future. Furthermore, as the vital strategic decision during the system transitional period of Kuomintang party, Northern Expedition is a key specimen to survey the decision-making system reconstruction of Kuomintang after their leadership system ending.There are mainly four chapters in discussing Kuomintang's decision-making issues in 1926 in this thesis excluding introduction and conclusion parts.From the unified strategy-making reviews, Chapter 1 attempts to study the enlightened historical significance of Sun Yat-Sen's Sudden Northward Movement during the Northern Expedition progress in 1924. This chapter tries to argue that leaving Guangdong and moving northward was Sun Yat-sen's positive choice of political strategies considering unifying and reestablishing the nation. However, Sun Yat-sen was in a dilemma in the actual manipulation with the thought of ending political turbulence in a peaceful way. Eventually, the wish of southern civil revolutionary camp combining legally constituted reorganization with the northern warlords system was dashed to the ground with the death of Sun Yat-sen. Furthermore, Kuomintang was bereaved of their leader and has to face political strategy choice once more.After the death of Sun Yat-sen, the historical progress of the Northern Expedition, which was reconstructed as a revolutionary symbol and the last unfulfilled wish of premier Sun Yat-Sen, and the public sentiment within the party during the political system reestablishment process of Kuomintang, will be analyzed and researched in Chapter 2. It is dissertated that Kuomintang's molding venation of premier's last will revealed the radical mentality of Kuomintang who hoped to build up political power legitimization and political moral basis to save the nation via their proclamation-typed language. Meanwhile, during the system transitional period of power struggle within the party and power game between the party and military, the premier's last will became a kind of contextual strength beyond attitudes which accelerated the consensus of Northern Expedition and to some extent led to the military power ascending within the party.Focusing on the debate of the questions about Northern Expedition within the southern camp on the eve of Northern Expedition, Chapter 3 discusses the different attitudes hold by different groups with their own standings, and expatiates their opinions'differences and attitudes direction changes. And the author also wants to prove that both the Soviet Russia Consultants in China and Communist Party of China members militarily realized the significance of Northern Expedition, and politically made their proposals to Kuomintang regarding the social revolutionary responsibilities under the influence of comments and criticisms of the Communist International and the Soviet Union's Bolsheviks. However, those proposals were censured'non-revolutionary'by public opinions in the name of succeeding to the premier's last will within the party which made Northern Expedition to be a key excuse for power struggle within the party.Based on decision making theories, Chapter 4 reviews the phenomena of military radicalism and political tardiness during the deciding process of Northern Expedition, and observes the effects of Northern Expedition on the internal power competition within southern camp. In this chapter, the author tries to demonstrate that Kuomintang carried out political experiments of decision-making reconstruction system after the ending of leadership system. In a sense, the Northern Expedition was not only the product of Kuomintang's new decision-making order but also the remolding of Kuomintang's power structure.This thesis tries to propose the following point on Northern Expedition decision questions: i.e. the Northern Expedition was a key link for Kuomintang's national union strategic choice venation. During the decision-making process, the faith strength which was called to succeeding to the premier's last will built a revolutionary moral system for Northern Expedition troop's dispatchment. And this introspective political norm to some extent became the determining element which prompted the Northern Expedition decision execution. Nevertheless, it failed to persuade and integrate the internal divergence of public opinions within the camp. And the debate of Northern Expedition questions indicated the possibility of organizational disintegration transferred from power struggle balance within southern political alliance. Meanwhile, the procedure changes of Northern Expedition strategies also disclosed the chaotic manipulation treacherousness of decision making system during Kuomintang's transitional period.