Cybernetics and Comprehensive National Power: The Grand Strategy of China’s “National Rejuvenation”
Dr. Christopher Ford • May 29, 2025
In this article in Volume 1, Issue 3 of the Missouri State Univeristy's online journal Defense & Strategic Studies Online (pp. 1-89), Dr. Christopher Ford, John Schurtz, and Erik Quam offer a detailed analytical account of how cybernetic theories of social control developed by the scientist Qian Xuesen and his disciples were adopted by the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and are today critical to understanding the Party’s domestic governance and foreign relations.
You can see the whole issue on DASSO's website here, read the Ford/Schurtz/Quam article here, or use the button below to access a PDF of the article.
Christopher Ford, John Schurtz, & Erik Quam, “Cybernetics and Comprehensive National Power: The Grand Strategy of China’s ‘National Rejuvenation,’” Defense & Strategic Studies Online, vol. 1, no. 3 (Spring 2025), pp. 1-89.
INHR published Professor Ford's latest essay on Artificial Intelligence and nuclear weapons on July 7, 2026. You can find the essay on INHR's website here , or read the text of his comments below.
War on the Rocks published Dr. Ford's essay "A New Force Posture Concept for Europeanizing Extended Nuclear Deterrence" on June 29, 2026.
Below is the text upon which Dr. Ford based his shorter remarks to a meeting with the class of Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Scholars for 2026.
Below is the text of Dr. Ford's remarks at a dinner event in London on June 16, 2026.
Below is the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford based his comments to a conference on May 28, 2026, sponsored by the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Below are the prepared remarks on which Dr. Ford based his comments at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 18, 2026, discussing U.S.-Russian relations after the expiration of the New START agreement.
Below are the remarks Dr. Ford delivered on a panel at the NATO Nuclear Policy Symposium in Istanbul , Türkiye, on April 21, 2026.
Dr. Ford's article arguing for a "neo-legitimist" approach to international law and law-making was published in Missouri State University's journal Defense & Strategic Studies Online (DASSO) in April 2026. You can find DASSO's webpage here , and an online copy of Dr. Ford's article here -- or use the button below to download a PDF.
Below is the essay of Dr. Ford's that INHR published on April 10, 2026. The essay can be found on the INHR website here , or read the text below.
Below is the essay of Dr. Ford's that INHR published on March 27, 2026. The essay can be found on the INHR website here , or read the text below.