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And such threat perceptions are often made worse by references to the supposedly predatory and hostile nature of the Chinese political system and the ideology of the PRC regime. [...] Such dangers supposedly arise from the inevitable uncertainties each power has regarding the intentions of the other, the presumed steadfast desire of the dominant power to retain its global power position and to protect the central role of its values and norms within the global system, the rising power’s desire to alter many of those values and norms to better reflect its interests, and its overa. [...] Understanding the meaning of threats is mediated by the perception of the target.”11 A military security threat is by no means a simple function of estimates made of the size, sophistication, and sustainability of a potential adversary’s military forces, as some analysts apparently believe.12 Overall, a military threat derives from a complex set of factors that include both objective and subjectiv. [...] Clearly, the existence of a specific military threat in the minds of the leaders and citizens of a nation depends on the subjective judgments of those making the threat assessment (including senior policymakers and the intelligence community) and the reactions of the broader public to those assessments, as well as both elite and public scholars and other theories and approaches to international re. [...] “Explaining Foreign Policy Behavior Using the Personal Characteristics of Political Leaders.” 20 | Threat Inflation and the Chinese Military ● Various emotional and psychological factors that influence how individuals and groups perceive the intensity, scope and nature of a specific threat or threats in general and the means available in responding to that threat.