Review: China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy by Peter Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Apologies for the unstructured stream of thought that you’re about to read. Hope you get something useful out of it

It is important to really focus on the title of the book before you start reading it. The title of this book is ‘china’s civilian army: Making of the wolf warrior diplomacy’. Making of. Here I was, starting to read all excited thinking I’ll get a breakdown to the current belligerent attitude of diplomacy which the ccp mouthpieces have been prone to. You do get that; sort of.

But the actual phenomenon of ultranationalistic wolf warrior diplomacy, which found fertile ground after Emperor Xi took to the throne, is mentioned tangentially. It’s not the focus. Rather, through several well researched, clearly written, and engaging chapters, we’re given a brief rundown, as to how the international diplomacy of a communist regime like the ccp, and by extension china, has shaped from its inception in 1949.

From the proto version of the diplomatic corps (or more accurately the espionage and honey trapping corps) back during the era of warlords vying for powers, and the subsequent Japanese Invasion, and the newly independent communist china, the diplomatic corps of the country had a rough start. Initially staffed by former military personnel and the rare foreign educated party member, there was a clear dearth in terms of resources as well as expertise on how to interact with nations outside their borders.

During this period, their largest partner in crime, in all aspects of governance was the erstwhile soviet union. As well as your odd communist regime from around the globe. But these limited capabilities suited the chinese perfectly. As, the first two decades or so following the ‘glorious revolution’, was spent getting the economy and society back on track; with communist characteristics. And of course, waging war on neighbours such as Tibet & India.

Interesting point to note is how the approach to diplomacy employed by the ministry of foreign affairs is strikingly similar to what is seen today. Which is not surprising, considering how then as now, the ccp made sure to make everything in china, an extension of their own whims and did what was best for them; not necessarily what is best for the nation or people.

In a regime built on violence, secrecy, treachery and paranoia, it is no wonder those individuals selected to interact with the ‘corrupt capitalist nations’ would’ve been under intense scrutiny. Which in turn resulted in sparse wiggle room for chinese diplomats when it came to forming meaningful working relationships with their counterparts.

When you have to only communicate based on the talking points or checklists which the party has approved, when your every move or action is being monitored and reported back to the party leadership, when one misstep or seemingly innocuous gesture might get you sent to whatever the chinese equivalent of the gulags were, most personnel from the MFA found it easier, and safer to stray not an inch from the line the glorious leaders of the party had assigned to them.

Which didn’t make their job easier, when every decade or so, as spearheaded by the genocidal blowhard Mao, the country was converting millions of its people to lifeless chunks of meat.

Be it through ill thought of, arsinine, and downright nonsensical propaganda moves like the Great leap forward, which left north of 40 million people estimated dead. Or be it the cultural revolution, Mao’s solution to consolidating his power by eliminating any and all who could oppose him, leaving ‘only’ a million or two dead. That’s not even considering the various genocidal pogroms carried out by the ccp, as recent as today with the persecution of Ethnic Uyghers and suppression of democracy in places like Hong Kong.

Whenever their leaders were indulged in their need for mass murder and suffering, the officials of the MFA were left with the unenviable task of covering up the incidents, by continuing to stonewall foreign governments, human rights organizations and journalists by being pig headed in their rote repetition of the party line.

The ccp seems to truly believe that repeating a lie enough times will make it the truth. They will continue to do so, ad infinitum and Ad nauseam.

In its infancy the nation owned by the party, acutely aware of their weak bargaining position in the international stage, chose to instead play the role of Iago, engaging in a charm offensive. Pleasing the egos, and glazing the shaft of the more stronger communist counterparts, at the same time trying to court the capitalists through the back door (pun intended).

One thing that the party has perfected over its 70+ year reign, is the art of propaganda, lying and putting on airs. To this day, if you’re a human rights activist or journalist trying to uncover the reality of the atrocities on hand, you’ll either be tricked, bribed, threatened or bamboozled by elaborate stage plays featuring real people as actors. And enough members of the secret police following you around to fill a school bus.

But communist china follows the doctrine of being amiable when weak, and being irreverent when strong. With the death of mao, policies shaped by leaders such as Deng Xiaoping, allowed the nation to grow economically. Ironically, this was by sucking at the teat of the same evil capitalist demons who the ccp often uses as scapegoats to prop up its tenuous power.

The turn of the millenia, as well as the ostentatious spectacle that was the 08 olympics, allows the ccp to showcase their vanity to the world. The subsequent power change, from President Hu Jintao, to Emperor Xi JinPing saw china discard any semblance of amiability and start behaving like the belligerent bully it always was.

Persecution of religious minorities such as christians and ethnic minorities such as the Uyghers, Brutal suppression of democracy and the people in Hong Kong, increased ruckus and diplomatic grandstanding over the Independent Nation of Taiwan, the ludicrous nine dash line which lays claims to the entirety of the sea in SouthEast Asia, bullying and threatening other nation in the SE asia using their power and influence, and of course the wide spread ultranationalism, propaganda, and subverting foreign democracies through underhanded means.

Working side by side was the new ministry of foreign affairs, same as the old ones. Who were ever ready to shout back at ten times the volume and intensity, at anyone who even attempted to say anything critical of the ccp. Your opponent can’t put forth a valid criticism, if they have to cover their ears and dodge spittle (insert big brain meme).

The current crop of diplomats, who fashion themselves to be hotshot maverick wolf warriors, who takes cues from a B-movie action star in matters of international relations, are a result of the environment created by the new emperor, who is all set to establish a Mao-esque cult of personality. He’s well on that way, having abolished the term limits to his office, in all likelihood intending to be President for life.

In this new regime, those who’re the loudest, the most fervent, and the most pig headed in defending the nation’s paper thin honor in front of foreign enemies are nurtured and rewarded. This is where you see the likes of zhao lijian, the mascot of wolf warriors worldwide (hey, alliteration). Confrontational; Provocative; Overbearing; Abrasive.

The only things their grandstanding and jingoism has achieved, is a general disdain for the ‘diplomacy with chinese characteristics’, as well as ridicule at the blatant denial of facts and inability to engage in any meaningful discourse. Also, erasing any and all goodwill and limited relations that actually competent diplomats managed to establish in the past. What is it that they say ‘Don’t interrupt your enemy when they’re busy shooting their own foot?’.

What I managed to glean is but a fraction of what the book had to offer. There are many more anecdotes and diatribes taken from pages in history, which I sadly don’t have the patience to explore.

To summarize, I went into this book, with only a cursory knowledge about the convoluted world of chinese diplomacy. And have emerged much wiser. So, I would recommend this book for an intermediate difficulty course in international relations and diplomacy.


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