A Comparative Study of Civil-Military Relations in Cuba and China: The Effects of Bingshang

Abstract

This article attempts to fill a methodological and analytical void in the study of civil-military relations in Cuba. Specifically, it examines the impact of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR)'s growing role in the economy on civilian/party control. The case of China and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) offers an interesting comparison because of the breadth and depth of economic reforms and military participation in the economy. The PLA's involvement in profit-making activities has had an eroding effect on professionalism, preparedness, and civilian/party control. Cuba has so far contained the dangers of bingshang (soldiers in business) by limiting and closely monitoring the military's role in the country's vacillating economic reforms. The comparison also demonstrates the importance of the generation of leadership attempting to readjust patterns of civil-military relations.