Cultural Realism

by Johnston, Alastair Iain

• ISBN13: 9780691002392
• ISBN10: 0691002398
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-07-27
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Cultural Realismis an in-depth study of premodern Chinese strategic thought that has important implications for contemporary international relations theory. In applying a Western theoretical debate to China, Iain Johnston advances rigorous procedures for testing for the existence and influence of "strategic culture." Johnston sets out to answer two empirical questions. Is there a substantively consistent and temporally persistent Chinese strategic culture? If so, to what extent has it influenced China's approaches to security? The focus of his study is the Ming dynasty's grand strategy against the Mongols (1368-1644). First Johnston examines ancient military texts as sources of Chinese strategic culture, using cognitive mapping, symbolic analysis and congruence tests to determine whether there is a consistent grand strategic preference ranking across texts that constitutes a single strategic culture. Then he applies similar techniques to determine the effect of the strategic culture on the strategic preferences of the Ming decision makers. Finally, he assesses the effect of these preferences on Ming policies towards the Mongol "threat." The findings of this book challenge dominant interpretations of traditional Chinese strategic thought. They suggest also that the roots ofrealpolitikare ideational and not predominantly structural. The results lead to the surprising conclusion that there may be, in fact, fewer cross-national differences in strategic culture than proponents of the "strategic culture" approach think.

Author Biography

Alastair Iain Johnston is Assistant Professor of Government and teaches Chinese foreign policy and international relations at Harvard University

Table of Contents

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES	vii	(2)
PREFACE	ix
CHAPTER ONE Strategic Culture: A Critique	1	(31)
The International Security Field and Strategic Culture	4	(18)
Strategic Culture and China	22	(5)
Conclusion	27	(5)
CHAPTER TWO Some Questions of Methodology	32	(29)
Definitions of Strategic Culture	33	(6)
Objects of Analysis	39	(10)
Methods of Analysis	49	(3)
Empirical Analysis	52	(9)
CHAPTER THREE Chinese Strategic Culture and the Parabellum Paradigm	61	(48)
Righteous War	69	(2)
On Violence	71	(28)
On "Not Fighting and Subduing the Enemy"	99	(7)
Conclusion	106	(3)
CHAPTER FOUR Chinese Strategic Culture and Grand Strategic Preferences	109	(46)
A Typology of Grand Strategies	109	(8)
Central Paradigms and Grand Strategic Preferences	117	(26)
Conclusion	143	(12)
CHAPTER FIVE A Return to Theory	155	(20)
The Strategy of Symbols and Symbolic Strategy	156	(14)
Some Hypotheses about Ming Strategic Decision-Making	170	(5)
CHAPTER SIX The Parabellum Paradigm and the Ming Security Problematique	175	(41)
Bingshu in the Ming Dynasty	176	(7)
Ming Security Problems Along the Northern Border	183	(3)
The Parabellum Paradigm and Alternative Grand Strategies	186	(4)
On Violence	190	(22)
Conclusion	212	(4)
CHAPTER SEVEN Chinese Strategic Culture and Ming Grand Strategic Choice	216	(32)
Patterns in Ming Grand Strategic Preferences	217	(14)
Strategic Preferences and Coerciveness in Ming Security Policy	231	(11)
Conclusion	242	(6)
CHAPTER EIGHT Conclusion	248	(19)
APPENDIX A Coding Procedures	267	(3)
APPENDIX B	270	(4)
Terms Used to Describe Legitimate Actions Directed at an Adversary	270	(3)
Terms Used to Describe Outcomes of Actions against an Adversary	273	(1)
APPENDIX C Map of Northern Border Areas in the Ming Period	274	(1)
REFERENCES	275	(18)
INDEX	293