China and its Military

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

China and its Military is a course that covers the PRC’s thinking about defense issues, the status and history of military modernization, the development of “counter intervention” capabilities, and the Chinese military’s role at home and abroad. Throughout the course, students will assess the strategic implications of tactical and operational changes in the Chinese military. China and its Military have three main goals. First, the course will provide students with an understanding of China’s security environment and its security policy responses. This includes an overview of PRC thinking on major concepts in security studies such as the nature of the international system, the role of power, deterrence, the use of force, coercion, and the utility of asymmetric strategies. Second, students will gain an understanding of the history and trajectory of ground, naval, air, space, and conventional and nuclear missile forces modernization as well as the strengths and weaknesses of China’s defense industry. Lastly, students will analyze the contemporary security challenges the Chinese military presents to the United States and the region; as well as how other actors, including the US, could respond to China’s more assertive security policies and capabilities such as in cyberspace.