https://www.newsbharati.com/Encyc/2023/9/21/Chinese-Influence-Operations.html
"Chinese
Influence Operations: A Machiavellian Moment" is a comprehensive and
thought-provoking report authored by P. Charon and J.-B. Jeangène Vilmer,
published by the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM) under the Ministry
for the Armed Forces in France. This report delves into the intricate realm of
Chinese influence operations, drawing parallels to Machiavellian tactics, and
provides a meticulous analysis of China's strategic efforts to wield influence
on the global stage.
Brief
History Chinese Influence Operations
For a long time, it could be said that China, unlike
Russia, sought to be loved rather than feared; that it wanted to seduce and
project a positive image of itself in the world, or to inspire admiration.
Today, Beijing has not renounced to seduce, nor its overall attractiveness and
its ambition to shape international standards, and it is essential for the
Chinese Communist Party not to lose face. And yet, Beijing is also increasingly
comfortable with infiltration and coercion: its influence operations have
become considerably tougher in recent years and its methods are resembling more
closely the ones employed by Moscow. This is a “Machiavellian turn” in as much
as the Party-State now seems to believe that “it is much safer to be feared
than to be loved,” in the words of Machiavelli in The Prince. This is a clear change
of Chinese influence operations.
This report delves into this evolution, with the ambition
to cover the whole specter of influence, from the most benign (public diplomacy)
to the most malign methods, that is, interference (clandestine activities). To
do that, the report is divided into four parts: successively laying out the
main concepts; the actors implementing these operations, including the Base 311
of the People’s Liberation Army; the actions conducted by Beijing toward the
diasporas, the media, diplomacy, economy, politics, education, think tanks, and
in terms of information manipulations – some levers among others; then, several
cases are studied (Taiwan, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, the operations that
targeted Hong Kong protestors in 2019, and the one that branded the Covid-19 as
an American fabrication in 2020).
The report assesses the effectiveness of this new Chinese
posture, which can boast some tactical successes, but constitutes a strategic
failure.
The Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM), founded in
2009, is a research institute attached to the French Ministry for the Armed
Forces.
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