Rethinking the Chinese People’s Liberation Army: Military Reform

Please join us for a lecture:

Rethinking the Chinese People’s Liberation Army: Military Reform under Xi Jinping

David Finkelstein, Vice-President and Director of the China and Indo-Pacific Studies Division, CNA

Moderated by: Elizabeth Wishnick, Professor, Political Science and Law, Montclair State University

In 2015, the Chinese armed forces—the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—launched a set of organizational changes and institutional reforms unprecedented in its history. Bold in its conception and sweeping its coverage, this endeavor is aimed at positioning the PLA to prosecute 21st century warfare. This briefing will explain what changes are taking place, the drivers behind this effort, and their implications. Spoiler alert: This discussion is not about weapons, platforms, or technologies. It is about organizational change, institutional culture, and bureaucratic politics.

Sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

Online via Zoom. Please register here.