Leader Personality and Aggressive Foreign Policy: The Case of China (2003-2022)

• In Event: Public Opinion in Contemporary Chinese Politics

Abstract

The study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his predecessor Hu Jintao in terms of aggressiveness involved in their approach to foreign policy and domestic politics, using Leadership Trait Analysis. The study shows that qualitative differences between the two leaders in terms of aggressiveness in foreign policy strategies can be largely explained by distinctly different patterns of seven personality traits in their profiles. The results indicate that Xi’s advocate leadership style remained notably stable, with the exception of a brief initial period indicative of a pragmatic approach. In contrast, Hu’s leadership style was predominantly pragmatic, with a set of traits demonstrating a significantly higher degree of responsiveness to evolving situations. Even though Xi’s approach to foreign policy was distinctly more aggressive than Hu, Xi stopped short of adopting radical or excessively aggressive strategies. The results also show that both leaders exhibit a remarkable contrast in trait scores between domestic and foreign policies, meaning that both leaders distinguished their handling of domestic politics from that of foreign policy issues. Interestingly, both leaders showed themselves more assertive and more dogmatic in dealing with domestic politics than in their relatively more pragmatic and moderate approach to foreign policy. Moreover, the profiles of both leaders demonstrated a ‘hyperdynamic’ dimension of leadership during specific periods wherein trait scores are assessed to be extraordinary in strength in relation to a norming group. The study suggests that such a hyperdynamic aspect of the leadership profiles indicates a tendency to adopt more aggressive strategies than in the other periods in achieving the goals.

Author

• Shin Yon Kim, University of Maryland, Baltimore County