Worlds beyond Westphalia: Daoist dialectics and the ‘China threat’
Миры за пределами Вестфалии: даосская диалектика и «китайская угроза»
2013-02-08
SCID: 54.1/q2m25srk
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China threat discourseDaoist dialecticsInternational relationsOntological parityWestphalian world order
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Abstract (AI)
Abstract Discourse in the US/West that a rising China threatens world order serves no national interest or international purpose. It subscribes only to Westphalian anxieties about the Other. Drawing on Daoist dialectics, this article shows how we can reframe this issue by revealing the complicities that bind even seemingly intractable opposites, thereby undermining the rationale for violence. By recognising the ontological parity between (US/Western) Self and (Chinese/non-Western) Other, we may begin to shift IR/world politics from hegemony to engagement, the ‘tragedy’ of great power politics to the freedom of discovery and creativity.
Key Findings
1
Daoist dialectics reframes the China-threat issue by exposing interdependencies and complicities between apparently opposed US/Western and Chinese/non-Western positions.
2
Recognizing ontological parity between the Western Self and Chinese Other undermines the rationale for violence in international relations.
3
The proposed reframing shifts world politics from hegemonic great-power rivalry toward engagement, discovery, and creative interaction.
4
US/Western discourse portraying China’s rise as a threat reflects Westphalian anxieties about the Other rather than serving clear national or international interests.
Research Object
US/Western discourse framing a rising China as a threat to world order
Research Subject
Daoist dialectical reframing of the ‘China threat’ discourse and its implications for violence, hegemony, and great-power engagement
Publication Details
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2013-02-08
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