The Fragility of Identity and the Imagination of Otherness in Bai Hua’s novel The Remote Country of Women

Drawing on The Remote Kingdom of Women (1988), the novel written by Chinese author Bai Hua (1930-2019), this essay examines how post-Mao China articulated the notions of memory and identity, as well as of belonging and othering, as an attempt to overcome the state of fragility caused by the trauma of the Cultural Revolution and the post-revolutionary growing influence of Western culture. It proposes to explore the way some of the literary works produced during this period were to promote an encounter between a fragmented yet hegemonic culture and the cultures of the internal ethnic Other, and how this encounter between majority and minority subjects was to highlight precisely the condition of fragility that underlies the very concept of identity. Keywords: China; Literature; Bai Hua; Identity; Majority; Minorities.

The Rise of China in Global Politics: Is a Peaceful Power Transition Possible?

This article seeks to cover the Dynamics between China and the United States of America through the perspective of Power Transition Theory. This analysis aims to dispute the notion that the nature of Power Transitions has a tendency towards bellicism between the Actors in question. Through the study of the theoretical matrix behind China’s internal and external politics, this article establishes how Beijing has accumulated a power that’s as deep and prolific as it is dependent on the very international order that its precepts appear to denounce. Keywords: Power Transition; Balance of Power; World Order; Pluralism; Solidarism

O Asian Infrastructure Bank enquanto elemento financiador da Belt and Road Initiative: demonstração de capacidade chinesa de prover bens públicos no sistema internacional

A Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) e o Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), o primeiro um projeto de interligação de economias a partir da China e o segundo uma instituição multilateral de financiamento a projetos de infraestrutura, são elementos definidores da política externa chinesa no século XXI. Entender a relação entre essas duas componentes é relevante porque permite realizar inferências acerca da projeção de poder chinês no sistema internacional. Neste sentido, entende-se que uma abordagem a partir da ideia de bens públicos globais é útil, pois se encaixa em um contexto mundial de fadiga dos Estados Unidos enquanto provedor desses e aparente vontade chinesa de assumir esse papel. O presente trabalho analisa a oferta de bens públicos por parte da China por intermédio do AIIB. Define-se, portanto, que o objetivo geral é verificar se essa instituição preenche a função de prover bens públicos no âmbito da BRI. Os objetivos específicos são (1) revisar a literatura acerca de bens públicos globais dentro da ótica de Kindleberger (1973) e outros autores; (2) discorrer sobre o AIIB e a BRI, demonstrando uma relação de financiamento do primeiro em relação ao segundo e; (3) aplicar a noção de bem público ao AIIB. Verificou-se que a multilateralidade, segurança jurídica e financiamento ao desenvolvimento são bens públicos promovidos pela instituição analisada. Palavras-chave: AIIB; BRI; bem público; China; Economia Política Internacional.

Chinese Strategic Culture and Sea Power: Geographic and Historical Sources

This paper sought to understand how geographic and historical sources of Chinese strategic culture shaped China’s stance regarding sea power throughout the imperial period and in the People’s Republic of China. By applying a deductive qualitative analysis, it was possible to identify that the borders of the Chinese heartland with the northern strategic periphery inhabited by non-Han peoples constituted an element of vulnerability that prompted the various dynasties to prioritize land-based strategic options. In the People’s Republic of China, the strategic environment favored the construction and adoption of sea power, however, continental domestic imperatives still influence Chinese strategic culture and security decisions. The study of the Chinese case enabled this paper to contribute to the understanding of how strategic culture molds strategic decisions by interacting with material and ideational variables. Keywords: maritime; continental; China, strategic culture.