Reacting to China’s rise throughout history: balancing and accommodating in East Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weizhan Meng ◽  
Weixing Hu
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
China's Rise ◽  
China Rose ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
Asian History ◽  
The Rise Of China

AbstractThe rise of China and how other countries respond to China’s rising is widely studied. But little has been done on how other countries reacted to the rise of China throughout history and how China strategically interacted with them. The conventional wisdom holds East Asian international relations did not operate in the Westphalian way and China’s rising in history did not trigger regional balancing actions. In this article, we challenge that view. We argue East Asian international relations were not exceptional to basic rules of the Westphalian system. Each time China rose up, it triggered balancing actions from neighboring regimes, including nomadic empires and settled kingdoms. The neighboring regimes would accommodate China only after they were defeated by China or pro-China regimes propped up in these countries. The Chinese hegemony in East Asian history could not be taken for granted. Over last 2,000 plus years, only during three periods of time (the Qin-Han 秦汉, Sui-Tang 隋唐, and Ming-Qing 明清 dynasties) China could successfully overpower regional resistance and enjoyed a stable tributary relationship with neighboring states. In the rest of time, the Chinese state could not retain hegemony in East Asia.

Domestic Politics and Nationalism in East Asian Security

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall L. Schweller
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Primary Factor ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Asian Security ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
East Asian Security ◽  
The Rise Of China

This chapter works within the neoclassical realist tradition to examine the role of nationalism in foreign policymaking and the implication for the international politics of East Asia. Whereas the rise of China is an important structural factor necessarily affecting states' security policies throughout East Asia, China's rise does not determine these states' security policies. Rather, domestic politics ultimately determines how a state responds to changing security circumstances. In particular, nationalism can drive states to adopt more belligerent policies than warranted by their strategic environment, thus contributing to heightened bilateral conflicts and regional tension. The chapter argues that, in contemporary East Asia, rising China sets the context of policymaking, but domestic politics has been the primary factor shaping policy.

International Relations Theory and East Asian History: An Overview

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Kang
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Asian History ◽  
Western Experience ◽  
International Systems

Long understudied by mainstream international relations (IR) scholars, the East Asian historical experience provides an enormous wealth of patterns and findings, which promise to enrich our IR theoretical literature largely derived from and knowledgeable about the Western experience. The intellectual contributions of this emerging scholarship have the potential to influence some of the most central questions in international relations: the nature of the state, the formation of state preferences, and the interplay between material and ideational factors. Researching historical East Asia provides an opportunity to seek out genuine comparisons of international systems and their foundational components. This introduction surveys the field and sets out to frame debate and the intellectual terms of inquiry to assess progress and guide future research. Theoretically, the essays in this issue provide insights on the emerging literature on hierarchy in international relations, and move beyond simplistic assertions that power “matters” to explore the interplay of material and ideational causal factors. Methodologically, scholars are no longer treating all East Asian history as simply one case, while also becoming more careful to avoid selection bias by avoiding choosing selective evidence from the rich historical record. Collectively, the empirical cases discussed in this volume span centuries of history, include a wide variety of political actors across East Asia, and represent an exciting wave of new scholarship.

scholarly journals Revenge of Geopolitics: Rise of China and the Confines of Asian Econophoria

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-175
Author(s):  
Richard Javad Heydarian
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
East Asia ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
East Asian ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rise Of China

The paper examines the evolution of the Asian regional security architecture in the past three decades, evaluating relations between China and its neighbors, and considering various approaches in International Relations theory. First, the paper examines the assumptions of liberal institutionalism in the context of “econophoria,” assessing its merits in East Asia. Second, the paper addresses China and its relations with the East Asian neighborhood in the latter decades of the 20th century. Third, the paper examines growing territorial tensions between China and its neighbors in the past decade -- and how this undermines regional security and regional integration. Lastly, the paper evaluates the contributions of alternative IR theories such as realism and constructivism in providing a better understanding of China’s new assertiveness.

Whither East Asian Regionalism? An ASEAN Perspective

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siow Yue Chia
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
East Asian ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
The World ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
The Rise Of China

East Asia is catching up with the rest of the world in establishing regional trade arrangements (RTAs). This region is responding to pressures from globalization, regionalism in the Americas and Europe, the rise of China and India, improved political relations in the region with the end of the Cold War, as well as market-driven trade and investment integration and the emergence of production networks. ASEAN formed the first RTA in 1992, and by the turn of the decade, ASEAN was signing or negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia–New Zealand, and the European Union. It also entered into bilateral FTAs with the United States and countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. ASEAN is also considering an East Asian FTA. Can ASEAN remain in the driver's seat of regional integration and be an effective hub? The FTA proliferation also has important consequences and effects for East Asia and the world trading system.

Rethinking Hierarchies in East Asian Historical IR

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph MacKay
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dimensions Of Variation ◽  
Over Time

Abstract International relations (IR) has seen a proliferation of recent research on both international hierarchies as such and on historical IR in (often hierarchical) East Asia. This article takes stock of insights from East Asian hierarchies for the study of international hierarchy as such. I argue for and defend an explanatory approach emphasizing repertoires or toolkits of hierarchical super- and subordination. Historical hierarchies surrounding China took multiple dynastic forms. I emphasize two dimensions of variation. First, hierarchy-building occurs in dialogue between cores and peripheries. Variation in these relationships proliferated multiple arrangements for hierarchical influence and rule. Second, Sinocentric hierarchies varied widely over time, in ways that suggest learning. Successive Chinese dynasties both emulated the successes and avoided the pitfalls of the past, adapting their ideologies and strategies for rule to varying circumstances by recombining past political repertoires to build new ones. Taken together, these phenomena suggest new lines of inquiry for research on hierarchies in IR.

scholarly journals Future of US-China Relations: Conflict, Competition or Cooperation?

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Syed Muhammad Saad Zaidi ◽  
Adam Saud
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Eastern Hemisphere ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Future ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
The Rise Of China

In contemporary times, the geo-political agenda and geo-economic strategy of the world is being dominated by the ongoing US-China hegemonic competition. Where the United States is trying to prolong the ‘unipolar moment’ and deter the rise of China; China is trying to establish itself as the hegemon in the Eastern hemisphere, an alternate to the US. The entirely opposite interests of the two Great Powers have initiated a hostile confrontational competition for domination. This paper seeks to determine the future nature of the US-China relations; will history repeat itself and a bloody war be fought to determine the leader of the pack? or another prolonged Cold War will be fought, which will end when one side significantly weakens and collapses? Both dominant paradigms of International Relations, Realism and Liberalism, are used to analyze the future nature of the US-China relations.

The Rise of China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Tze Ern Ho
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Research Design ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Global Order ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
The Rise Of China ◽  
Policy Behavior

This chapter introduces the concept of Chinese exceptionalism as a framework for studying China’s political worldview and international relations. It argues that a discourse of Chinese exceptionalism has permeated Chinese scholarly circles as a mode of political inquiry into China’s international relations and vision of global order. Consequently it argues that a framework of exceptionalism provides a more comprehensive explanation of China’s international politics and foreign policy behavior. The chapter also discusses the research design of this study, which is based primarily on elite interviews and discourse analysis. It concludes with an outline of the remaining eight chapters of the book, and how they relate to the broader theme of Chinese exceptionalism.

American Grand Strategy in the Indo Pacific: Plus ça change?

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-757
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Wilkins
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Grand Strategy ◽  
Strategic Culture ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
The Core ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
The Rise Of China ◽  
American Grand Strategy

In an era of heightened great power competition, debates about American grand strategy in the Indo-Pacific region have returned to the fore. This review essay looks at three recent volumes that directly address such debates. After introducing the concept of grand strategy, Part I reviews each of the books individually in sequence, outlining their scope, contents, and contributions. Part II then integrates the contributions of each of the volumes into a broader discussion relating to four pertinent issues: American perspectives on "Asia"; international relations (IR) theory; American strategic culture; and the rise of China, before concluding. The books under review are to differing degrees orientated toward one of the core IR theory paradigms: realism (Green), liberalism (Campbell), and constructivism/ critical approaches (Kang). As such, read together, they contribute to a multi-faceted theoretical understanding of US grand strategy in the Indo Pacific that will be of significant value to both scholars and practitioners.

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