Publisher's Synopsis
"Karl Mannheim's definition of social generations is used to analyze the current Peoples Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) Officer Corps. Using a combination of existing quantitative and qualitative information, three social generations are distinguished based on the officer's approximate date of entry into the PLAN. Although this thesis is rooted in social science, several chapters are necessarily a selective historical survey of the PLAN focused upon those events that are expected to be impactful on their future mindset. Predictions of possible future trajectories or opinions of particular generations is omitted to reduce possible bias. A brief historical overview of the PLAN over the last century is also provided to establish context before analyzing the present PLAN"--Provided by. publisher.
