Small Wars Journal

Chinese Lessons from Other Peoples' Wars

Mon, 11/21/2011 - 1:04pm

Chinese Lessons from Other Peoples' Wars - Edited by Dr. Andrew Scobell, Dr. David Lai, and Mr. Roy Kamphausen; US Army War College Strategic Studies institute monograph.

The importance of China stems not only from its current international role and its influence on the Asia-Pacific region in particular, but also because China’s impact on global developments will likely continue to grow. One of our enduring imperatives is to accurately survey China’s experiences as a means to grasp its existing perceptions, motivations, and ambitions. More than ever, solid, evidence-based evaluation of what the PLA has learned from the use of force and conflict elsewhere in the world is needed to shed light on the prospects for its cooperation, or rivalry, with the international community. This volume provides unique, valuable insights on how the PLA has applied the lessons learned from others’ military actions to its own strategic planning.

Comments

Backwards Observer

Mon, 11/21/2011 - 10:09pm

Thanks for posting this, looks interesting. These 'essential evaluation criteria' outlined by Douglas Lovelace (p.14) caught my eye:

<blockquote>• A valid and reliable observation;</blockquote>
<blockquote>• Understanding the observation;</blockquote>
<blockquote>• Discerning the significance of the observation;</blockquote>
<blockquote> • The applicability of the observation; and,</blockquote>
<blockquote>• Assessing the effectiveness of the lesson learned.</blockquote>

Be honest, if anyone actually tries to meet these criteria they're immediately shitcanned, right? I'm just kidding.