Misunderstood Dragon or Underestimated Panda

This study uses the theory of strategic culture to analyze how China reacts to an external national security crisis. Following an overview of the theory, the author introduces a strategic culture framework. Three cases studies (Korean War, Vietnam War, and 1995 Taiwan crisis) serve as qualitative evidence for the framework. This study concludes that strategic culture is useful as a supplementary lens in understanding Chinese responses to a security crisis. The framework also provides a rough translation of Chinese strategic concepts into familiar US concepts. The framework can aid a US strategist by helping anticipate how Chinese strategic culture will lead Beijing to react during a security crisis. A sample application of the framework in a real-world scenario is included as an appendix.

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