Hybrid war ‘without restrictions’: Chinese theories of new concepts of war not limited by traditional military thinking
2021
Abstract
The chapter analyses a bestselling 1999 book written in the environment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It looks how its authors, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, view the world as in a permanent war of all against all, in which no rules apply and whoever can outwit everyone else wins.
The analysis focuses on the cultural sources of the book, the ways in which ideas and knowledge impornted from the West are appropriated, and explores the historical context in which the book was written. In addition, it also touches upon the book's possible relation to the concept of 'thee warfares', which became part of the PRC's security doctrine after 2000.