10 March 2023

“Chinese Strategy: Universal or Unique?”—Honored to Present at Naval War College-Vanderbilt University Conference!

Presentations (Selected)

CHINESE STRATEGY: UNIVERSAL OR UNIQUE?

Is Chinese strategy part of a universal field of strategic thought, or should it be seen as a distinct intellectual tradition that cannot easily be mapped onto Western concepts of strategy?

Friday 10 March, 1430–1800 & Saturday 11 March, 0900–1700

***Please note: all times are Central Standard Time, one hour behind Eastern Standard Time***

Community Event Space

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

The U.S. Naval War College and Vanderbilt University invite you to participate in “Chinese Strategy: Universal or Unique?” The conference brings together scholars and practitioners to interrogate fundamental questions about the conceptual and cultural drivers of Chinese strategy—past, present, and future. Topics include the Classics of Strategic Thought, Chinese Naval Warfare, and China’s Contemporary Grand Strategy.

For more information on in-person and virtual attendance please email wilsona@usnwc.edu and peter.lorge@vanderbilt.edu.

AGENDA

Chinese Strategy: Universal or Unique?

10 March:

2:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

  • Mahan-Tzu? Chinese Sea Power in Comparative Perspective

Moderator: Andrew Wilson (NWC)

Panelists:

James Holmes (NWC) – “China’s Maritime Strategic Idiom”

Andrew Erickson (NWC) – “Chinese Maritime (Militia) Strategy: Universal or Unique?”

Discussant: Tonio Andrade (Emory University)

5:00 p.m.

  • Keynote address: “Myth-Busting 5.0: Interrogating the Conventional Wisdom on Chinese

Strategic Culture” Andrew Wilson (NWC)

11 March:

9:00 a.m.

  • “How ‘Chinese’ is China’s Grand Strategy?”

Moderator: Peter Lorge (Vanderbilt)

Panelists:

Sheena Chestnut Greitens (University of Texas at Austin) – “Contemporary Chinese Strategic Thinking”

Julia McClenon (Naval Postgraduate School) – “Timekeeping Systems as Cognitive Windows into Chinese Strategic Thought”

Andrew Meyer (Brooklyn College) – “Sunzi in the Taiwan Strait: Exploring the Relevance of Classical Chinese Strategic Thought to PRC Policy”

10:30 a.m.

  • Coffee/Tea & Snacks

11:00 a.m.

  • Chinese Military History in Comparative Perspective

Moderator: James Holmes (NWC)

Panelists:

Harold Tanner (University of North Texas) – “A Case Study in Chinese Strategy: The Chinese Civil War, 1945-1950”

Li Xiaobing (University of Central Oklahoma) – “China’s Strategy in the Korean War and its Impact”

12:30 p.m.

  • Lunch

1:30 p.m.

  • Classical Strategic Thought: East and West

Moderator: Andrew Meyer (Brooklyn College)

Panelists:

Vanya Bellinger (NWC) – “Clausewitz, Amiot, and Sun Tzu: Sun Tzu’s First European Translation and the Prussian Military School”

Peter Lorge (Vanderbilt) – “Cutting the Shoes to Fit the Feet”

John F. Sullivan (U.S. Indo-Pacific Command) – “The Case for Contextualizing Sun Tzu”

3.00 p.m.

  • Coffee

3:30 p.m.

  • Concluding Remarks and Discussion

Zoom link: https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/j/2813051653

Meeting ID: 281 305 1653

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Meeting ID: 281 305 1653