Militarism and the China Model: The Case of National Defense Education

Abstract

This article proposes that advocates of the China model deploy notions of culture and tradition in ways that hide the central role of militarism in Chinese politics. The hypothesis is explored by looking at the ways in which the country’s military and paramilitary institutions are used to propagate militaristic values and practices through the policies of National Defense Education (NDE) and National Defense Mobilization (NDM). This yields evidence from policy documents, the discussions of educationalists and the content of teaching materials. The conclusion is that focusing on the role of militarism provides better insights into the way that social stability and political continuity are maintained than resorting to vague notions of ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’ in the China model.