Contender States and Modern Chinese International Thought

In this chapter, I contextualized the emergence of an indigenous IR theory in China post-1978 within the broader framework of the rise of non-Western IR theory and Global IR. I contend that existing historiographic narratives detailing the origins and progression of modern Chinese international thought after 1978 tend to exhibit a pronounced internalism and a methodological nationalism. Consequently, I have delineated four internalist historiographic narratives: (1) ‘the big bang of 1978,’ (2) the ‘paradigm shift’ in IR theory in China, (3) China's peaceful rise, and (4) the influence of a Confucian culture on the development of indigenous IR theory.

In this chapter, I establish an internationally informed analytical framework, drawing on Leon Trotsky’s idea of uneven and combined development (UCD) and Kees van der Pijl’s analytical category of ‘contender states.’ I argue that this theoretical and analytical approach enables us to historicize the production of modern Chinese international thought from a genuine international perspective, addressing the widespread internalism and methodological nationalism that permeates much of the mainstream literature on the origins and development of an indigenous IR theory in mainland China.

This chapter examines the multilinear and geopolitical origins of modern Chinese international thought. It illustrates how its inception became possible due to three global and interconnected processes: the introduction of ideologies of modernity such as Socialism, Social Darwinism, and Liberalism through the migration of Chinese intellectuals to imperial Japan in the early twentieth century; the revolutionary events unfolding in Tzarist Russia from 1905 onwards, culminating in the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922; and China's traumatic confrontation with Western imperial powers. Furthermore, the chapter demonstrates how the Republican era witnessed the adoption of China's new structural position within modern geopolitics as a contender state, shaping the internal characteristics of modern Chinese international thought.

This chapter analyses the transformation of modern Chinese international thought in the context of the triangular relationship between the Soviet Union, the United States, and China. This chapter delineates how the Maoist era was characterized by two defining and interrelated geopolitical moments that significantly influenced the production of Chinese international thought. Firstly, during the period preceding the Sino-Soviet split (1956–1966), Chinese international thought was predominantly shaped by the geopolitical dynamics of the Sino-Soviet alliance and their contestation against Western powers. Secondly, the chapter illustrates how the Sino-Soviet split marked a crucial moment for modern Chinese international thought, initiating a shift towards a renewed ethnocentric sinocentrism and a growing political pragmatism. This shift paved the way for the intellectual transformations that unfolded after 1978.

This chapter scrutinizes the ‘Anglo-Americanization’ process of IR theory in China after 1978. It posits that the new geopolitical moment unfolding after 1978, characterized by China’s capitalist restoration and a gradual, selective economic integration into the international liberal order, profoundly shaped the production of modern Chinese international thought. This thought began to embrace the Anglo-American IR tradition as a means to depoliticize the production of IR knowledge and consciously break with the Republican and Maoist past and provide the grammar for China to operate within the capitalist system of states. However, I also demonstrate that despite the profound ‘Anglo-Americanization’ of IR theory, the production of international thought was still influenced by the contender nature of the Chinese state. Yet, this contender nature manifested in the way Chinese IR scholars reproduced and developed Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, and the ‘English School of IR’ in post-Mao China.

This chapter delves into whether the pursuit of establishing an indigenous IR theory during the post-reform era, under the ‘Chinese School of IR,’ was still influenced by China’s contender position within the global order. I contend that despite the subliminal liberalism that informs the theoretical innovations promoted by the members of the ‘Chinese School of IR,’ these theoretical works have been shaped by China’s contender experience. Beyond some exceptions, this complex and heterogeneous theoretical project has primarily been concerned with two key issues. On the one hand, it has aimed to safeguard China’s international autonomy in a landscape characterized by the resurgence of geopolitical rivalry between China and the West. On the other hand, it has focused on maximizing China’s position within the global economic order during the post-reform era to protect China’s national economic development and the domestic legitimacy of the CCP.

In this chapter, I engage in a reflective analysis of the findings presented in the four empirical chapters. Additionally, I offer theoretical insights into Global IR and propose potential directions for advancing the project.