A Non-world : Chinese Perceptions of the Western International Order
Year of publication
2020
Authors
Puranen, Matti
Abstract
As the West struggles, China, economically and politically stable, has increased its criticism toward the Western-led international order. According to Chinese arguments, the ongoing decade has demonstrated that the Western liberal international order is no more capable of solving the troubles of the globalizing world. It is as if the Western political imagination has run out of steam and it is now the responsibility of China to take the lead in stabilizing the world. On the side of the official statements, Chinese theorists of world politics are envisioning a new alternative world order, which would be based on a historical, sinocentric system that was in place in East Asia for thousands of years. According to Chinese theorists, this ‘tianxia system’ was based on completely different philosophical and institutional foundations, and it is a mere historical contingency that it was later left in the shadow of the Western international order. This ‘tianxia theory’ is one of the main proponents for a new ‘Chinese theory of world politics’. It is slowly influencing policy circles in China, and more importantly, globally challenging our ingrained conceptions on world politics. A large part of the work of the tianxia theorists consists of criticisms of the ‘west’: its religion, political thought, and ‘chaotic’ individualist nature. The chapter especially focuses on these critical narratives of the ‘west’.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
University of Jyväskylä
Puranen Matti
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Compendium
Article type
Other article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A3 Book section, Chapters in research booksPublication channel information
Parent publication name
Parent publication editors
Lehti, Marko; Pennanen, Henna-Riikka; Jouhki, Jukka
Publisher
Pages
315-341
ISBN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
3
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
No
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Political science
Keywords
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
No
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-22059-4_12
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes