The Transitions Of Strategic Culture And The Transformations Of Modern China’s Diplomacy

Modern China’s foreign policy experienced two great transformations. The first transformation took place in the late1970’s and the early1980’s, which was characterized by China’s changing role from an adversary and an opponent to a participant and a partner in the international society. The second transformation took place in the middle and the late1990’s, which was characterized by China’s changing role from a passive partner to an active revisionist and creator. Finding the dynamic causes of the transformations is the aim of the dissertation. Since the known explaining models are not convincing, the dissertation tries to advance and justify a theoretic model which ascribes China’s diplomatic transformations to the transitions of Chinese strategic culture.The first chapter of the dissertation aims to advance a theory which demonstrates the relations between strategic culture and diplomatic behavior. Strategic culture is composed of ideas and behavioral preferences which are shared by strategy makers. Strategic culture can construct diplomatic behavior, which is implemented by two steps. In the first step, the ideas shared by the strategy makers identify national status, determine national interests and limit foreign policy choices. In the second step, the behavioral preferences shaped by the ideas of strategy makers during a long period define the final diplomatic behavior.The second chapter studies the formations and transitions of strategic culture in modern China’s history. Strategic culture is shaped by the strategy makers, cultural background, historical experiences and circumstances at home and abroad. From the founding of People’s Republic of China to the late1970’s, China formed and was in the confrontation-oriented strategic culture which was the consequence of the outside menace, and its leading causes were the world situations. From the late1970’s to the middle1990’s, China formed and was in the cooperation-oriented strategic culture which was the driving consequence of interests, and its leading causes were the changes of political situations at home. Since the middle1990’s, China gradually formed and was/is in the revision-oriented strategic culture which was the consequence of self-expression, and its leading causes were the rising national power.The third chapter tries to justify that the two great transitions of strategic culture contribute to the two transformations of modern China’s foreign policy by studying the modern China’s history. When confrontation-oriented strategic culture turned into cooperation-oriented strategic culture, the ideas and behavioral preferences of the strategy makers changed, thus China’s diplomatic behaviors changed at the same time, which were demonstrated in the relations with major powers, the patterns to solve territory disputes and the changing participating degree in international institutions. China’s foreign policy experienced a second transformation when cooperation-oriented strategic culture turned into revision-oriented strategic culture, which was justified on two levels. On the regional level, China tried to revise America’s leading bilateral alliance system with multilateral cooperation system and established some regional security regimes. On the global level, China showed the new image as a responsible major power, promoted the reforms and creations of global governance institutions and became a reformist in the global financial crisis, a creator of new governance institutions and a player in the climate issue. Thus, the dissertation justifies the theoretical model which ascribes China’s foreign policy transformations to the transitions of Chinese strategic culture.