As scholars and publics look for alternatives to what is understood as a violent Western world order, many claim that China can provide such an alternative through the Chinese dream of a harmonious world. This book takes this claim seriously and examines its effects by tracing the notion across several contexts: the policy documents and speeches that launched harmony as an official term under previous president Hu Jintao; the academic literatures that asked what a harmonious world might look like; the propaganda and mega events that aimed to illustrate it; the online spoofing culture that is used to criticise and avoid "harmonization"; and the incorporation of harmony into current president Xi Jinping’s "Chinese dream". This book finds contemporary Chinese society and international relations saturated with harmony. Yet, rather than offering an alternative to problems in "Western" thought, it counter-intuitively argues that harmony has not taken place, is not taking place, and will not take place. The argument unfolds as a contribution to wider debates on time, space and multiplicity in world politics. Offering analysis of the important but understudied concept of harmony, Nordin provides new and creative insights into wider contemporary issues in Chinese politics, society and scholarship. The book also suggests a creative and novel methodology for studying foreign policy concepts more broadly, drawing on critical thinkers in innovative ways and in a new empirical context. It will be of interest to students and scholars of IR, Chinese foreign and security policy and IR theory.

This study of Chinese foreign policy is intended for academics and graduates of Chinese studies and of international relations, international economics and those interested in decision-making theory.

This book intends to make sense of how Chinese leaders perceive China’s rise in the world through the eyes of China’s international relations (IR) scholars. Drawing on a unique, four-year opinion survey of these scholars at the annual conference of the Chinese Community of Political Science and International Studies (CCPSIS) in Beijing from 2014–2017, the authors examine Chinese IR scholars’ perceptions of and views on key issues related to China’s power, its relationship with the United States and other major countries, and China’s position in the international system and track their changes over time. Furthermore, the authors complement the surveys with a textual analysis of the academic publications in China’s top five IR journals. By comparing and contrasting the opinion surveys and textual analyses, this book sheds new light on how Chinese IR scholars view the world as well as how they might influence China’s foreign policy.

This book provides scholars in the English-speaking world with a window to understand China’s perspectives on diplomatic theories and policies. This book is a study of China’s diplomatic theories and Chinese foreign practice analysis. Along with the recent diplomatic strategy adjustments, diplomatic practices, and changes, it discusses China’s international relations with its neighbors, the USA, Japan, India, the Middle East, and SAARC, as well as the “One Road and One Belt” initiative.

How does China see the rest of the world? One way to answer this question is to look at the work of China’s scholars in the field of International Relations (IR). This leads to a second question – to what extent do Chinese IR scholars influence Beijing’s foreign policy and outlook? The contributors to this book seek to answer these key questions, drawing on their own first- and second-hand experiences of involvement in scholarly IR debates in China. Discussing fundamental aspects of China’s foreign policy such as China’s view of the international structure, soft power projection, maritime disputes, and the principle of non-interference, this book provides insights into the hinterland of Chinese foreign policy-making. It is an invaluable reference for global IR scholars, especially those with a direct interest in understanding and predicting China’s actions and reactions on a range of international issues.

With new assertiveness and prominence, China under President Xi Jinping is rightly considered an emerging and aggressive superpower backed by growing economic and impressive military strength. In this meticulous and balanced assessment, Robert G. Sutter traces China’s actions under Xi Jinping, including the many challenges they post to the international status quo. He provides a comprehensive analysis of newly prominent Chinese unconventional levers of power and influence in foreign affairs that were previously disguised, hidden, denied or otherwise neglected or unappreciated by specialists. Sutter considers the domestic issues that preoccupy Beijing and the global factors economic and political factors that complicate and constrain as well as enhance China’s advance to international prominence.

This Handbook, comprising around twenty-five chapters provided by numerous experts in the field, will prove invaluable to students of international affairs, academics, researchers, businesspeople and policy analysts. Chapters will give up-do-date and unbiased information on the current state of Chinese international relations in historical perspective.

This Handbook, comprising around twenty-five chapters provided by numerous experts in the field, will prove invaluable to students of international affairs, academics, researchers, businesspeople and policy analysts. Chapters will give up-do-date and unbiased information on the current state of Chinese international relations in historical perspective.

The question of how China will relate to a globalising world is one of the key issues in contemporary international relations and scholarship on China, yet the angle of innovation has not been properly addressed within the field. This book explores innovation in China from an International Relations perspective in terms of four areas: foreign and security policy, international relations theory, soft power/image management, and resistance. Under the complex condition of globalisation, innovation becomes a particularly useful analytical concept because it is well suited to capturing the hybridity of actors and processes under globalisation. By adopting this theme, studies not only reveal a China struggling to make the future through innovation, but also call attention to how China itself is made in the process. The book is divided into four sections: Part 1 focuses on conceptual innovation in China’s foreign and security policies since 1949. Part 2 explores theoretical innovation in terms of a potential Chinese school of International Relations Theory. Part 3 expands on innovation in terms of image management, a form of soft power, in particular how China exports its image both to a domestic and foreign audience. Part 4 highlights how innovation is used in China by grassroot popular groups to resist official narratives. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, Chinese foreign policy and international relations, international relations theory and East Asian security.