The “Role” of Nationalism in Chinese Foreign Policy: A Reactive Model of Nationalism & Conflict

A growing literature has sought to address the question of Chinese nationalism, and particularly whether or not its rise over the last decade could make China more prone to international conflict. Yet these discussions have often not been well grounded in either theories of nationalism or international relations (IR) theory. This paper will seek to fill this gap by using a constructivist approach to examine how nationalism is constituted by the interaction of states. By doing so, it will be argued that Chinese nationalism can best be understood as a reactive response to international events rather than domestic political manipulation. Michael Alan Brittingham is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at McDaniel College. He has previously taught at the University of Louisville. In 2005, he completed his dissertation entitled, “Reactive Nationalism and Its Prospects for Conflict: The Taiwan Issue, Sino-US Relations, & the ‘Role’ of Nationalism in Chinese Foreign Policy” in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His current research interests include international relations theory, Chinese foreign policy, and nationalism.     

International relations in China and Europe: the case for interregional dialogue in a hegemonic discipline

Abstract

The international relations (IR) discipline is known as an ‘American Social Science’ dominated by scholars and theories from the US core. This paper compares IR in two noncore settings, China and Europe. It shows that there is a growing institutional and intellectual integration into global Anglophone, mostly American, IR in both Europe and China. Both Chinese and European IR communities have established top Anglophone journals like the European Journal of International Relations and the Chinese Journal of International Politics to spearhead their integration into mainstream Anglophone IR and carve out a space for regional thinking. Yet, the analysis of their publication and citation patterns shows that IR outside the American core communicates through a hub-and-spokes system where there is always a connection to the American core but rarely very strong linkages to other peripheral regions. The two journals studied thus function as outlets for ‘local’ and American scholars, rely on ‘local’ and American sources, and there is very little integration and exchange between Chinese and European IR. Chinese and European IR would benefit from such a dialogue, especially regarding ‘schools’ of IR at the margins of an ‘American social science’.     

Seeking Sovereignty: Gaining Understanding through Critical Analysis

The field of international relations has traditionally been dominated by a state-centric analysis of world politics, in which sovereignty is unequivocally tied to the Westphalian State. In recent literature, many international relations scholars have begun to question the primacy of the state and its relevance for understanding global politics. What remains to be analyzed is, if the Westphalian State is declining, where will sovereignty reside in the emerging post-Westphalian order? In order to address this question, this article will attempt to disaggregate sovereignty from the nation-state. The goal of this deconstructive exercise is to provide future international relations scholars with a more relevant conception of sovereignty and its possible impact on international relations studies. Only by engaging in this type of critical analysis can international relations scholars break out of their state-centric cocoon and progress towards a better understanding of the transforming global system.     

Chinese traditional world citizenship thoughts and its impact on the cultivation of Chinese world citizenship awareness

To better cultivate their world citizenship awareness better in the future, the Chinese citizens today need to inherit the fine Chinese traditional world citizenship thoughts. The Chinese traditional world citizenship thoughts, with ideas such as ‘Datong shijie’ (‘a world of grand unity’), ‘Tianren heyi’ (‘unity of heaven and human’), ‘Rendao zhuyi’ (humanitarianism), and ‘Heping zhuyi’ (pacifism), contained the seeds of a concept of world citizenship. In comparison with the Western counterpart, the citizen consciousness in China's traditional society was very weak, China's traditional minzhong (people) concepts were based on its state concept of ‘Tian Xia’ (All-under-Heaven), and a sense of citizenship in the late Qing was built by using the cultural resources of both Confucianism and Western philosophy. For the transcendence of Chinese citizenship toward world citizenship, the first thing to do is to foster a civil spirit in China, the second, to promote the growth of China's civil society, the third, to encourage Chinese citizens to actively take part in global governance and bear international responsibilities, and the fourth, to pay more attention to the role of Chinese universities, which serve as the fundamental basis, support, channel, and venue for fostering world citizenship awareness.     

Chinese considerations of "economic security"

This paper is a preliminary study of Chinese considerations of China’s “economic security”, a notion that gained currency in China-based Chinese scholars’ research on China’s international relations in the 1990s. Among other things, such considerations reflect Chinese scholars’ acceptance of Western Realist/Nationalist convictions about the international political economy. The paper also finds that Chinese concerns about what the international political-economic environment holds for China’s approach to national greatness through economic growth by continuing to interact with the rest of the world, while not unfounded, are more ideology-driven than fact-based. This tendency contrasts sharply with Japanese notions of “economic security,” which have greatly influenced industrial restructuring in Japan and Japan’s international economic/security policies Japan since the term came into being in the 1970s.     

"西学东渐"与清初"中西会通"的科学观

明清之际的"西学东渐",在一定程度上改变了清初学人的科学思维方式,极大拓宽了他们的科学视野,从而推进了中国传统科学向西方近代科学的历史性转变.但在"天朝情结"和"以夏变夷"观念误导下,清初学者由"会通"滑入"索源",提出了"西学中源"说,把"中西会通"转向乾嘉时期对中国传统科学的盲目推崇,从而延缓了中国近代化的进程.     

清后期“西学中源”论中“以子证西”的两面性及其命运

嘉道以后,学者们纷纷从先秦诸子中挖掘材料,论证“中学”与“西学”的关系,这成为当时国人认识“西学”的重要途径。在“以子证西”的过程中,有人通过论证“西学”与“中学”相通,主张国人应该学习“西学”;有人则认为“西学”既然源自“中学”,那就不必再去学习“西学”“。以子证西”的论证模式曾经起过“沟通中西”的作用,但在清末因其牵强附会而日渐被抛弃,思想界逐步走向了“超胜”中西的新道路。     

重新认识中华法资源的价值--从胡适的"老英雄悲剧"谈起

在1932年发表的<中国历史的一个看法>中,胡适描绘了一出"老英雄悲剧",即"老中华"的失败史,从中可以看出他对中华文明盲目指责和对西方近代文明盲目崇拜的态度.在当时那个新旧变替和文化碰撞最激烈的时代,出现一些偏激看法是正常的现象;但在经济全球化的今天,则必须建立起理性看待中西文化的态度.百余年来中国借助西方法资源建构的法律体系缺乏本土的社会基础,因此目前应当重新认识和发掘中华法资源,纠正长期存在的对于中西法治文明简单化和教条化的认识.     

中国特色惩治和预防腐败体系的理论渊源

中国特色惩治和预防腐败体系是当今国际社会独树一帜的中国国家廉政体系。该体系理论的形成是当代中国反腐败实践经验的科学总结,是党和政府反腐倡廉理论和实践的重大创新,它不仅体现了我国市场经济发展的客观要求,也顺应了国际社会反腐败斗争的发展潮流。马克思主义唯物辩证法、中国特色社会主义防治腐败理论、系统论科学等构成了其理论渊源;当代中国的反腐败实践是中国特色惩治和预防腐败体系理论形成的经验基础;中华文明的整体思维是中国特色惩治和预防腐败体系理论的传统文化渊源;学习和借鉴国际社会注重预防腐败和建构国家廉政体系的新理念是中国特色惩治和预防腐败体系理论的时代精神和现代元素。     

测量治理：国外的研究及其对中国的启示

对治理的测量是构建经验性治理理论的基础。采用文献分析方法,首先简要介绍了国外,特别是世界银行、联合国人居署等国际组织的学者创建的测定治理的原则及指标体系,并对其获取资料和数据的调查研究方法进行了介绍。在此基础上,就中国地方治理测量指标体系的构建提出了原则性的意见,并初步设计了基层地方政府层次的治理水平测量指标体系,这为今后进一步深入研究乡镇基层地方治理发展变化奠定了基础。认为,治理理论打破了以往"政治-行政"二分法的研究取向,为政治和行政的研究与实践提供了一个更为综合的理论视野。国外学者对治理理论的价值定位和实证角度的获取资料和数据的方法也值得国内学术界借鉴。同时主张,作为一个从西方学术界引进的概念和理论,中国学者在利用这一理论来解释和分析中国的相关社会现象时要意识到其理论和测定概念指标的适用性问题。     

中国马克思学:哲学抑或科学

创建中国马克思学是推进当代中国马克思主义哲学研究的主要路径,体现着当代中国马克思主义哲学研究向学术化方向发展的一种趋势。在学科定位上,中国马克思学应当是一门实验科学,具有可证伪性。中国马克思学研究者应以科学理性的态度对待国际马克思文献学的研究成果。     

简论晚明“中西哲学对决”之主要格式

晚明"中西哲学对决"之主要格式有:以亚里士多德"四因说"驳道家之"无"与释家之"空";以西洋哲学"实体-属性"之说驳中国哲学之"太极"与"理";用西洋哲学中之"发生论"释读"理生天地万物"之"生";以西洋哲学固有之"白板说"反驳儒家之"性本善"及"复初"说;以西洋"三司"知识论释读儒家之"仁"与"义";以西洋"生死"说置换儒家之"生死"说;以西洋哲学之"成见"颠覆中国"仁者以天地万物为一体"之观念;以西洋哲学中之"材料"与"形质"释读中国哲学之"气";以"物之元质"释读"太极";以西洋"原罪"说释读中国哲学之"恶";以西洋"定性论"驳中国"随性论";以西洋哲学之"本体论"驳中国哲学;等等。     

Intelligence,International Relations and 'Under-theorisation'

This article submits that the conceptual framework within which intelligence is studied must continue to evolve and adapt to the new conditions of the early twenty-first century. As more intelligence and intelligence related material than ever before enters the public domain, scholars of international relations must take greater account study of the role of intelligence. Despite its obvious importance to the course of the Cold War, for example, most accounts of the Cold War tend to ignore or downplay the importance of signals intelligence in particular. Intelligence, moreover, is all but absent in most contemporary international relations theory. The essay argues that intelligence should be placed closer to the centre of new interpretations of both the course of the Cold War and of the political dynamics of authoritarian states.     

The Promise and Perils of Interpretivism in Australian International Relations

Australian International Relations (IR) was once a hybrid of American and European styles of political science, but today it is dominated by a British‐inspired post‐positivism which has its virtues – and its vices – and which utilises various interpretive and semi‐interpretive approaches. This paper welcomes the ‘interpretive turn’ in Australian IR, but recognises its weaknesses, and argues that, to overcome them, interpretivists must be clear about what interpretivism should and should not entail. It argues that a thoroughgoing interpretivism offers two things that qualitative work in Australian IR desperately needs: a revived focus on explaining international relations, as well as understanding it, and a renewed engagement with other fields and other modes of studying the field.     

Intervention and Empire: John Stuart Mill and International Relations

It is surprising that John Stuart Mill's international thought, which focuses on intervention and empire, has not attracted the attention it warrants. It is particularly surprising that Mill has been largely overlooked by the English School, whose members acutely appreciate the contributions of classical political philosophers to international discourse. Galvanised by his introspection on his life, especially the impact of interference in his psychological and intellectual development, to his analysis of the impact of Britain on India's princely states and intervention in civil wars, Mill identified timeless problems intrinsic to international relations whilst profoundly appreciating the tensions they generated in the form of perverse effects, unintended consequences and moral hazard. Contemporary international relations are replete with examples of the unforeseen and unforeseeable developments that attend intervention and interference. If a concern of the English School is the tormenting decisions that fall to statesmen, Mill provides an understanding of the considerations that vastly complicate such decisions.     

对传统公共物品理论的破与立——兼论后公共物品时代的政府职能定位理论

对于公共物品的界定,西方学者见仁见智,而国内学者大多以消费上的非竞争性和非排他性作为公共物品的充分条件和必要条件。本文否定了物品(包括服务)存在消费上的非竞争性和非排他性,进而否定了以物品的客观属性来界定公共物品的传统公共物品理论,主张以需求溢出理论作为后公共物品时代的政府职能定位理论。     

国学、国学热与文化认同

“国学”概念提出的最根本的目的,在于回应“西学”的挑战。对西方“现代性”的反思、对美国单边主义的抵制、中国惊人的发展变化、对“东亚发展模式”的探讨、“软实力”建设的提倡等,是“国学热”兴起的主要原因。对“国学”既不能采取固步自封的保守主义,也不能采取批判打倒的激进主义。“五四情结”、“斗争哲学情结”、“意识形态情结”、“西方中心论情结”等,仍严重阻碍着中国人之“民族文化认同”。     

International ideologies: paradigms of ideological analysis and world politics

Abstract

Recent years have seen significant interest among scholars of International Relations (IR) in ideological analysis. By treating international theories as international ideologies, this trend entails both a radical reconceptualization of IR’s disciplinary foundations as well as the emergence of important new lines of inquiry for scholars of ideology. And yet, as a research programme, ideological analysis in IR has failed to establish a significant foothold in the discipline. This article locates the source of this weakness in the fractious nature of IR as a discipline, which has contributed to the emergence of five distinct paradigms of ideological analysis: analytical, historical, philosophical, critical and reflexive. Reviewing these five distinct bodies of scholarship, this article demonstrates that ideological analysis is ‘alive and well’ in IR, but argues that greater engagement between divergent paradigms will be required in order to fully understand the complexities of international ideologies.     

The Perils of Hubris? A Tragic Reading of “Thucydides’ Trap” and China-US Relations

In the last few years, Graham Allison’s “Thucydides’ Trap” has stimulated much discussion within International Relations (IR). Most IR scholars understand Thucydides’ Trap as a shorthand for power transition theory, and view it as highly inadequate for analyzing China-US relations. This article seeks to offer an alternative, tragic, understanding of Thucydides’ Trap that may have more purchase on the analysis of the dynamic of China-US relations. It first argues that while Thucydides’ Trap shares power transition theory’s focus on the shifting balance of power, it is also different from the latter in its emphasis on the emotional implications of changes in the balance of power. This article then explores a tragic understanding of Thucydides’ Trap. Economic success often encourages a rising power to display ambition, confidence and enhanced sense of self (what Allison calls “rising power syndrome”), which leads to loosened restraint, overextension, and strategic blunder; meanwhile, its assertive and ambitious moves spark a ruling power’s fear, insecurity and even paranoia (what Allison calls “ruling power syndrome”), which prompts it to take “preventive” actions in response to the rising power’s assertiveness. This article finally looks at China-US relations through this tragic lens. It suggests that this tragic understanding of Thucydides’ Trap can illuminate the emotional aspect of China-US relations, and also argues that the Thucydides Trap Research Project should henceforth develop an emotional line of inquiry into interaction between the great powers.

     

发挥主体性在《中国近现代史纲要》教学中的作用

"中国近现代史纲要"是高等院校本科生必修的思想政治理论课之一。这门课属于历史学科,更是一门政治理论课。开设它的目的是使大学生认识近现代中国社会发展和革命发展的历史进程及其内在的规律性,了解"三个选择"的必然性和客观性。了解这门课的性质和功能,教学中才能发挥教师和学生的主体性,实现它的目的和功效。