Changes in China military doctrine (1990-2012)

Abstract

There are two possibilities regarding changes in military doctrine, the first possibilities is those who belongs to the Internalist School of Thought which that believe changes derived from internal factors; and the Externalist School of Thought that believe that changes derived from external factors. China has gone though several changes in terms of their military doctrine. The two latest changes was the Limited War doctrine into Limited War under High Tech Conditions doctrine, and Limited War under High Tech Conditions doctrine into Local War under Conditions of Informatization doctrine. This paper will try to use the previously mentioned Schools of Thought to analyze changes in China military doctrine and derive a conclusion whether the changes belong to one of the School of Thought or whether there are other possible explanations to explain the changes in China military doctrine.