On Pekingology and Kremlinology

I mentioned before that the world's eyes are on the 20th Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China, which will be held in mid-October. And of course, this conference is of great importance in terms of the course of the new cold war between the United States of America and China. Both authorities have different administrative systems and ideologies. The course of the world is subject to the existential rivalry between these two superpowers.

The "Chinese Communist Party" has ruled China since 1949. It is expected that the CPC Congress will come up with important decisions with regard to Beijing's roadmap. The question here is how will the Chinese Communist Party manage a population of 1.4 billion people? The Communist Party of China boasts over 95 million members among its ranks.

The Central Committee of the party consists of 376 people, the Politburo consists of 25 people, and the Standing Committee of the Politburo consists of 7 people. At the top of the political hierarchy sits the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chinese President Xi Jinping. As for the People's Liberation Army, it represents the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party.

To give a broader idea of the population of Chinese provinces, Guangdong is the largest province in China, with a population of 126 million, followed by Shandong with 102 million, Henan with 99 million, Jiangsu with 85 million, and Sichuan with 84 million. The GDP of Guangdong Province is approaching $2 trillion. And if every Chinese province represented a country, all the calculations in the world rankings in terms of population and economy would inevitably change.

Napoleon Bonaparte said, "Let China sleep, for when it awakens, it will shake the world." China has woken up and all the Western elites are talking about a rising China. According to Western strategists, China's rise is the geopolitical equivalent of the melting of the polar ice caps.

China has already risen. The problem for the United States is to contain the rise of China to the point where it turns the wheels of the global order. In other words, the United States wants to prevent China's further escalation.

The key to understanding China lies in deciphering the Chinese Communist Party. Deciphering the CCP's game book is not an easy task. During the old Cold War, Americans' eyes were directed to the "Kremlin Palace" in the Russian capital, Moscow, as the center of the Soviet Union. They were looking for answers to questions such as: "Who is approaching whom?", "Who represents the hawk, and who represents the dove?" and "Is there partisanship among the ruling elite?" So much so that the position of the people at the leader's meeting table was of extreme importance. In order to decipher the Kremlin's code, every story, every phrase, and every sentence was carefully followed, and many analyzes were made about the meanings hidden between the lines. Understanding the difference between truth and propaganda also required a specialized endeavour.

It was not only the knowledge of what is happening inside the Kremlin Palace and how it happens that the spies’ preoccupation, but the interest of intellectuals and scientists as well, which led to the launch of the idea of “Kremlinology” (relative to the Kremlin, a science concerned with the study and analysis of Russian politics). With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Kremlin flag took its place among the lost professions. Now, Kremlinology has replaced Kremlinology.

Researchers, analysts, and strategists refer to 'kinology' as the art of studying, understanding, and following up on Chinese politics. Questions about the Kremlin are now being put to Beijing.

The economy has shifted to Asia, and China is the second largest economy in the world. This geopolitics of transformation is pushing forces within the global system to take different positions. China has already entered the radar of financial circles economically.

In this context, 'china/pekingology' also plays an 'advisory' role. For this reason, understanding how China is governed and administered is more important than ever. Pekingology is also the study of the political behavior of the power that governs China. It is also important to know the intellectual leanings of the Chinese political elite. On the other hand, Chinese political elites seem to be described as "reformers," "new left," and "Confucians."

China was also an obscure title during the old Cold War era. For the Western elite, China was a very attractive endeavour. But during this period, China played a different role. The rise of China and its transformation into an existential rival to America has given rise to the idea of a "neo-pekingology".

With the help of artificial intelligence technology, Neopekingology searches and scrutinizes data texts. The goal is to decode the Chinese administration. Of course, neo-pekingology includes the study of Chinese culture and ideology.

The Kremlinology was a product of the old Cold War. As for Pekingology, it is a product of the "new cold war". Meanwhile, getting to know China "as it is" is a way to conduct a good analysis. Of course, a good analysis may not necessarily lead to good policy, while a bad analysis will certainly lead to bad policy.