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oapen-20.500.12657-879882024-03-28T14:03:23Z China between Peace and War Cheng, Victor S. C. Mao China Chinese Communist Party Military military history peacemaking World War II thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHW Military history thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JW Warfare and defence In China between Peace and War, Victor S. C. Cheng explores the gripping history of peace talks and international negotiations from 1945 to 1947 that helped determine the shape of the Chinese Civil War. The book focuses on the efforts of the two belligerent parties—the Chinese Nationalists, or Guomindang, and the Communists—to achieve an enduring peace. It presents previously unexplored major elements of the peace talks: ambiguous treaties, package deals and short-term solutions. It identifies the burning challenges that confronted attempts at peacemaking, including the two warring parties' high-risk decision-making styles and the temptation to veto agreements and resume fighting. Cheng argues against popular notions that differences between the two belligerents in the Chinese Civil War were irreconcilable, that the failure of the peace talks was predetermined and that the US government mediators needed to remain neutral. Because the actions around the negotiating table occurred in a developing theatre of war, Cheng also explores the military decision-making of the opposing sides as well as the conflicts that ultimately plunged China into the world’s largest military engagement of the seven-plus decades since World War II. China between Peace and War highlights the contradictory role of political leaders who micromanaged the military, including their struggle to connect political objectives and military power, their rhetorical use of the 'decisive war’ concept, and their pursuit of radical military-political goals at the expense of a negotiated peace. 2024-02-23T15:45:46Z 2024-02-23T15:45:46Z 2023 book ONIX_20240223_9781760465728_18 9781760465728 9781760465711 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/87988 eng application/pdf Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International book.pdf ANU Press ANU Press 10.22459/CBPW.2023 10.22459/CBPW.2023 ddc8cc3f-dd57-40ef-b8d5-06f839686b71 9781760465728 9781760465711 ANU Press 308 Canberra open access
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In China between Peace and War, Victor S. C. Cheng explores the
gripping history of peace talks and international negotiations from 1945 to 1947
that helped determine the shape of the Chinese Civil War. The book focuses on
the efforts of the two belligerent parties—the Chinese Nationalists, or
Guomindang, and the Communists—to achieve an enduring peace. It presents
previously unexplored major elements of the peace talks: ambiguous treaties,
package deals and short-term solutions. It identifies the burning challenges
that confronted attempts at peacemaking, including the two warring parties'
high-risk decision-making styles and the temptation to veto agreements and
resume fighting. Cheng argues against popular notions that differences between
the two belligerents in the Chinese Civil War were irreconcilable, that the
failure of the peace talks was predetermined and that the US government
mediators needed to remain neutral. Because the actions around the negotiating
table occurred in a developing theatre of war, Cheng also explores the military
decision-making of the opposing sides as well as the conflicts that ultimately
plunged China into the world’s largest military engagement of the seven-plus
decades since World War II. China between Peace and War highlights the
contradictory role of political leaders who micromanaged the military, including
their struggle to connect political objectives and military power, their
rhetorical use of the 'decisive war’ concept, and their pursuit of radical
military-political goals at the expense of a negotiated peace.
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