Chaplains and Commissars: An Analysis of the People’s Liberation Army’s Political Work System and the Will to Fight

AI Summary

The paper analyzes how the People’s Liberation Army’s political work system supports party loyalty and the military’s dual-command structure. It argues that the system also aims to build morale and strengthen soldiers’ willingness to fight.

Abstract: This paper posits that the People Liberation Army’s (PLA) political work system, in addition to its role in the dual-commander system and enforcing party loyalty, are also relied upon to raise esprit de corps and nurture soldiers’ “will to fight.” To elucidate this point, the paper uses a metaphor from Liu Cixin’s The Dark Forest to explicitly compare political … Read more The post Chaplains and Commissars: An Analysis of the People’s Liberation Army’s Political Work System and the Will to Fight appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.