This talk is hosted by the Department of Political Science.
Abstract:
How do career and reputational concerns affect China policy discourse within the Washington foreign policy community? We conducted over 50 semi-structured interviews and a novel survey experiment of nearly five-hundred American foreign policy and national security professionals about their views towards the People’s Republic of China. Contrary to concerns of a rigid consensus, we identify a noticeable diversity of policy perspectives among these professionals. However, many participants perceived a degree of what they referred to as “hawkflation” or “groupthink.” Roughly one fourth of survey respondents noted instances of professional pressure to voice a more hawkish point of view towards China, and many feared being perceived as na¨ıve or compromised by their views on, ties to, and experiences in China. These pressures were particularly noteworthy for foreign policy professionals that are traditionally marginalized from power–those who are younger, non-white, or female. Our subjects reported a number of different strategies to cope with these pressures, including mirroring hawkish rhetoric in their advice, modifying or self-censoring their views in public settings, and even exiting the field entirely. Taken together, these social dynamics appear to foster perceptions of ‘consensus’.
Bio
Rory Truex is Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. His research focuses on Chinese politics and authoritarian systems. His work has been published in the American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Perspectives on Politics, and The China Quarterly. His research and commentary has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Hill, South China Morning Post, and The New York Times. In 2021 he received the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, the highest teaching honor at Princeton. He hosts The Civic Forum, a weekly public speaker series on democracy featuring leading scholars and practitioners.