The Rise of China and Chinese International Relations Scholarship

By (author) Hung-jen Wang

Publication date:

05 November 2015

Length of book:

204 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739185315

This book looks at the relationship between Chinese international relations (IR) scholarship and China’s rise as a world power. Specifically, it addresses how China’s rising international status since the early 1990s has shaped the country’s IR studies, and the different ways that Chinese IR scholars are interpreting that rise. The author argues that the development of IR studies in China has been influenced by China’s past historical experiences, its recent change in status in world politics, and indigenous scholarly interpretations of both factors. Instead of treating Chinese IR scholars as value-free social scientists, the author shows how Chinese scholars—as purposive, strategic, and emotional actors—tend to manipulate existing (mostly Western) IR theories to support their policy propositions and identity statements. This book represents one of few efforts to determine how local Chinese scholars are constructing IR knowledge, how they are dealing with intersections between indigenous Chinese and imported IR theory and concepts, and how Chinese scholars are analyzing “their China” in terms of its current rise to power.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Being Uniquely Universal: Creating Chinese International Relations Theory
Chapter 3: From “Chinese Characteristics” to a Chinese IR School: Four Stages of Identity Making
Chapter 4: Representing China’s Rise in Analyses of Sino-American Relations
Chapter 5: Representing China’s Rise in Analyses of Sino-Japanese Relations
Chapter 6: Representing China’s Rise in Analyses of Sino-Southeast Relations
Chapter 7: Making Sense of China’s Rise in the Context of Cross-Taiwan Strait Relations
Chapter 8: Conclusion: Chinese IR Scholarship, Knowledge Production, Interpretations and Choices

Hung-jen Wang has written one of the first books, if not the first book, to systematically examine the relationship between China’s rise and the study of international relations in China. Given the growing influence of China in international affairs, it has become increasingly imperative for the outside world to understand Chinese scholars' unique outlooks on international relations, especially their views of China’s rise. This book is a welcome addition to facilitate the constructive dialog between Chinese and Western scholars of international relations.