The Confucius Institute Initiative in Reconstruction of China’s National Identity

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 778-800
Author(s):  
Guo-Qiang Liu
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
International Community ◽  
Policy Planning ◽  
Policy Initiative ◽  
The West ◽  
Confucius Institute ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Perspective

This article examines China’s Confucius Institute program, a significant language policy/planning initiative. I adopt a political perspective in looking into the birth of this language policy initiative, focusing on its role in reconstructing China’s national identity in the context of its rise and its international relations. I explore the background against which the Confucius Institute initiative was formed, and analyse how this initiative was received in the West and how China responded to it. I argue that China is undergoing a reconstruction of its national identity and the Confucius Institute initiative is a major part of this effort. I suggest that such a reconstruction of national identity is an interactive process with an outcome resulting from China’s negotiation with the international community, involving China stating a new position, listening to international responses, clarifying and elaborating upon its position until its new position is accepted by the international community.

International relations and the International Criminal Court

2020 ◽  
pp. 561-575
Author(s):  
Njoki Wamai
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The West ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship

The tensions generated by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) indictment of four prominent Kenyans—including Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who went on to become president and deputy president of the Kenyan Republic, respectively—in 2013 promised to reorder the relationship between Kenya and the international community. This chapter discusses the ICC’s intervention and its impact on both local Kenyan politics and Kenya’s relationship with its regional and international partners including its traditional Western partners, such as Europe, the UK, and the US. The chapter also discusses how tensions between Kenya and the West influenced Kenya’s relationship with the East including China, India, and Japan.

Reconstructing hierarchy as the key international relations concept and its implications for the study of Japanese national identity

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-518
Author(s):  
Michal Kolmaš
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
International Relations ◽  
World System ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
The West ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Hierarchical Relationship ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Post War

AbstractFor the last few decades, the discipline of international relations has been littered with anarchy. Since Waltz'sTheory of International Politics, it has been assumed that states are formally equal sovereign unitary actors operating in an anarchic world system and that their identities and interests are defined by the very existence of anarchy. This article shatters this conception. It offers a ‘hierarchical worldview’ in order to illustrate that the very concepts of state, sovereignty, and anarchy are discursive creations inherently tied to the practice of hierarchy. I use a case study of Japanese national identity to illustrate this practice. The narratives of Japan as an autonomous and sovereign state were inextricably linked to Japan's hierarchical relationship toward Asia and the West (pre-war) and the USA (post-war). Japan's sovereignty and autonomy were then formulated within the practice of hierarchy.

scholarly journals Using Spolsky’ Model in Examining Malaysia’s National Language Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-327
Author(s):  
Dayangku Alina Awang Habuan
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
British Empire ◽  
National Language ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Policy Planning ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Linguistic Rights ◽  
The Past ◽  
Public Education Policy

Malaysia gained its independence on 31 August 1957 after the British Empire have fully relinquished its colonisation on the land. As with any newly independent polity, one of the ways for Malaysia, a multi-ethnic country, tries to establish its national identity is by establishing a language policy. This paper will examine Malaysia’s language policy planning using Bernard Spolsky’s (2004) model proposed in his book ‘Language Policy’ published by Cambridge University Press in 2004. In the book, Spolsky (2004) theorised that there are four major motivations that influences the decision of a country’s language policy planning. These four major motivations are, the sociolinguistic situation of a country, a country’s national identity or ideology, the effects of English as the language of a wider communication, and minority linguistic rights. In the case of Malaysia, each of Spolsky’s (2004) four forces does seem to have an impact on Malaysia’s language policy planning and the forces are very intertwined with each other. Malay as the dominant ethnic group in a sense has influenced the language chosen as the national language. However, being a diverse country, this decision does pose an issue at creating a national identity among its people. At the same time, English being the past colonial language and at present, the language for wider communication has caused Malaysia’s medium of instruction in public education policy to be seen as oscillating back and forth between Malay and English. On the other hand, minority linguistic rights in Malaysia has a long way to go since only certain indigenous languages are taught as elective subjects in schools.

Aesthetic Dilemmas of Adaptation and the Politics of Subjectivity: Animating the Chinese ClassicJourney to the West

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengcheng You
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Historical Time ◽  
The West ◽  
The Real ◽  
Quest For Meaning ◽  
National Allegory ◽  
Canonical Text ◽  
The Fantastic ◽  
Monkey King

This article reviews four major Chinese animated adaptations based on the classic Journey to the West. It shows how these adaptations, spanning four historical phases of modern China, encapsulate changes in Chinese national identity. Close readings underpin a developmental narrative about how Chinese animated adaptations of this canonical text strive to negotiate the multimodal expressions of homegrown folklore traditions, technical influences of western animation, and domestic political situations across time. This process has identified aesthetic dilemmas around adaptations that oscillate between national allegory and individual destiny, verisimilitude and the fantastic quest for meaning. In particular, the subjectivisation of Monkey King on the screen, embodying the transition from primitivistic impulse, youthful idealism and mature practicality up to responsible stewardship, presents how an iconic national figure encapsulates the real historical time of China.

The Rise and Fall of Great Powers

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Lundestad
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
The West ◽  
Economic Modernization

There are no laws in history. Realists, liberals, and others are both right and wrong. Although no one can be certain that military incidents may not happen, for the foreseeable future China and the United States are unlikely to favor major war. They have cooperated well for almost four decades now. China is likely to continue to focus on its economic modernization. It has far to go to measure up to the West. The American-Chinese economies are still complementary. A conflict with the United States or even with China’s neighbors would have damaging repercussions for China’s economic goals. The United States is so strong that it would make little sense for China to take it on militarily. There are also other deterrents against war, from nuclear weapons to emerging norms about international relations. It is anybody’s guess what will happen after the next few decades. History indicates anything is possible.

Snapshot of Social Work in China: Outcomes of Stakeholder Competition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Yi-Bing ◽  
Li Quan-Cai ◽  
Cui Meng
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Third World ◽  
International Community ◽  
The West ◽  
Local Dynamics ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Professional Value

Abstract Since its introduction from the West, social work has unprecedentedly developed in China in recent decades. Accordingly, existing definitions of social work became outdated quickly inevitably. Indigenisation offers a useful perspective for understanding the development of social work in the rapidly changing context of China. However, indigenisation is often regarded as a linear and unidirectional process of knowledge transfer and adoption from the West to third world countries, which easily results in local dynamics getting ignored. This article views indigenisation as the result of competition amongst different local stakeholders. By discussing social work in China presently and examining the performance of different stakeholders, we argue that Chinese social work differs from social work in the West to some extent, especially in terms of its professional value, which has been challenged. Finally, the article highlights the implications of China’s experience with social work for the international community.

The Ambivalent Relationship of Japan's Soft Power Diplomacy andPrincess Mononoke: Tosaka Jun's philosophy of culture as moral reflection

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
KOSUKE SHIMIZU
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Moral Reflection ◽  
The West ◽  
Soft Power Diplomacy

AbstractCulture is a demanding word, particularly when it is used in the context of the contemporary academic discipline of international relations (IR). It is often employed in order to distinguish one identity from another, allegedly illuminating idiosyncrasies embedded in a particular society or group of people. The essentialized understanding of culture is also detectable in the case of the current debate on the non-Western international relations theories (IRT). Non-Western politicians and scholars often employ the term culture in order to distinguish their values from alleged Western values. However, culture has another important function mainly advanced by a left-wing Kyoto School philosopher Tosaka Jun, that is, culture as a mirror for critical reflection for morality (Tosaka, 1966). This article is based on Tosaka's argument that culture has an important function for moral reflection beyond that of a mere means to identify one's distinctiveness from the West, and it criticizes Japan's soft power diplomacy or the total absence of it from that point of view. It also argues that this absence is the result of the soft power discourse's over-simplified interpretation of culture that results in confrontation between the West and the rest, particularly when it is employed in non-Western IRT discourses. Towards the end, I examine Miyazaki Hayao's films,Princes Mononokein particular, as examples of cultural works facilitating a moment of critical reflection, and I extract embedded messages of relevance to critical reflection on contemporary IR literature, particularly non-Western literature.

Disinformation is a rising security threat to the West

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Step Change ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Synthetic Media ◽  
Victims Of Bullying

Significance Articles containing the bogus quotes were shared across social media globally. The case illustrates how disinformation is created and spread for malign influence, and its ease of entry into social media discourse, which makes it so difficult to untangle and counter. Impacts Political polarisation within the United States is impeding a 'whole of society' response. Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns will claim the two nations are falsely accused victims of bullying by envious foes. Artificial intelligence-created synthetic media such as deepfakes will enable a step-change in the sophistication of 'infowars'.

Entry barriers could easily thwart China’s tech plans

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Quantum Computing ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Entry Barriers ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Competition ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity

Significance These are: artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, genetics, biotechnology, neuroscience and aerospace. Impacts It is not always useful to view technological competition between China and the West as a ‘race’. China will likely burn significant capital just to achieve parity with advanced countries, and may never achieve it. Low margins will encourage protectionism and import substitution, with an impact on efficiency and productivity.

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