Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ebffiledoc_590Download textbook Chinas Selective Identities State Ideology And Culture Dominik Mierzejewski ebook all chapter pdf
ebffiledoc_590Download textbook Chinas Selective Identities State Ideology And Culture Dominik Mierzejewski ebook all chapter pdf
https://textbookfull.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-
loucas/
https://textbookfull.com/product/forging-identities-gender-
communities-and-the-state-in-india-zoya-hasan/
https://textbookfull.com/product/beyond-the-human-animal-divide-
creaturely-lives-in-literature-and-culture-1st-edition-dominik-
ohrem/
https://textbookfull.com/product/fascism-through-
history-2-volumes-culture-ideology-and-daily-life-patrick-g-
zander/
China s Non State Soft Power Actors Tai Chi Traditional
Culture and the Practice of Public Diplomacy China
Policy Series 1st Edition Xiaoling Zhang Tony Hong
https://textbookfull.com/product/china-s-non-state-soft-power-
actors-tai-chi-traditional-culture-and-the-practice-of-public-
diplomacy-china-policy-series-1st-edition-xiaoling-zhang-tony-
hong/
https://textbookfull.com/product/citizenship-and-infrastructure-
practices-and-identities-of-citizens-and-the-state-1st-edition-
charlotte-lemanski-editor/
https://textbookfull.com/product/nordic-consumer-culture-state-
market-and-consumers-soren-askegaard/
https://textbookfull.com/product/consuming-identities-visual-
culture-in-nineteenth-century-san-francisco-1st-edition-lippert/
https://textbookfull.com/product/what-is-china-territory-
ethnicity-culture-and-history-zhaoguang-ge/
DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI,
BARTOSZ KOWALSKI
CHINA’S SELECTIVE
IDENTITIES
Series Editors
Imtiaz Hussain
Independent University of Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Finn Laursen
University of Southern Denmark
Odense, Denmark
Leonard Sebastian
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore, Singapore
The series publishes books dealing with important political changes within
states and in relations between states. The two key questions it seeks to
answer are: to what extent are countries becoming more democratic/
liberal, and to what extent are inter-state/inter-regional relations creat-
ing/demanding new ‘governance’ arrangements? The series editors
encourage submissions which explore local issues (where the local could
be a state, society, region) having global consequences (such as regionally,
internationally, or multilaterally), or vice versa, global developments (such
as terrorism, recession, WTO/IMF rulings, any democratic snowball, like
the Third Wave, Fourth Wave, and so forth) triggering local consequences
(state responses; fringe group reactions, such as ISIS; and so forth).
China’s Selective
Identities
State, Ideology and Culture
Dominik Mierzejewski Bartosz Kowalski
Faculty of Int’l & Political Studies Faculty of Int’l & Political Studies
University of Łódź Faculty of Int’l & University of Łódź Faculty of Int’l &
Political Studies Political Studies
Łódź, Poland Łódź, Poland
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore
189721, Singapore
Acknowledgments
Writing this title would not be possible without the support and help from
many people and institutions. The book is the result of the three-year
research project financed by the Polish National Science Center on deci-
sion no. UMO-2013/09/B/HS5/02650. During the period of prepar-
ing this book, both authors traveled and discussed various parts of the
research project with Chinese, American, and European scholars. We are
particularly grateful for all the comments and insights provided by profes-
sors Wang Yizhou (Beijing University), Yan Xuetong (Qinghua University),
David Shambaugh (George Washington University), and Vladimir
Portyakov (Russian Academy of Science). We are especially indebted to
two Polish China experts: professor Jan Rowinski, and former Ambassador
to China H. E. Ksawery Burski. Both studied and worked in China as
diplomats, and witnessed the changes in China since 1950 onwards.
v
Contents
5 Conclusions 221
Index 233
vii
CHAPTER 1
Since the nineteenth century, due to the growing interaction with external
others, China has been facing a problem of finding a place for itself in
international society. Building an individual identity for the “state” that
tends to be “all under the heaven” (tianxia) and a civilization has been
perceived as a fundamental challenge. The then Sinocentric view, a model
of auxiliary states (fuguo) and the Confucian vision of great unity (datong)
was challenged by the Western modern state apparatus (Shang Huipeng,
2009, p. 57–58). Through interaction with external others, China had the
Westphalia nation-state centric system imposed upon it by the Western
powers. At this point, the collision between two different perceptions of
the world in the nineteenth century played an important role in shaping
China’s international behavior today. After years of being economically
backward, China is rising and, like every rising power, is attempting to
substantiate its legacy by building its own identity, and through these
means, shape its power status. Along with China’s growing economy and
greatly improved material status, Chinese authorities have raised questions
of fairness, equality, and justice. On the one hand, China shows its aspira-
tions, but on the other, it tries to meet international expectations. By
building its own set of values and identity, China hopes to protect its
national interests, create a peaceful environment for further moderniza-
tion, as well as shape its identity at the same time. The Chinese identity is
perceived as socially constructed and shaped by China’s historical
e xperiences. For this, Chinese leaders have shaped the principles of peace-
ful coexistence and assisting the developing world. During Mao’s time,
China developed a coherent, revolutionary identity, and tried to build a
united front with the Third World. Despite being more pragmatic and
non-revolutionary oriented, policymakers in the 1980s were reminded of
China’s principles and the need for contributing to developing countries.
During the next two decades, Beijing continuously built its economic
strength and in 2005 used the moral term “harmonious world” to describe
its actions in the world. Xi Jinping introduced new dynamics with his Belt
and Road initiative and leveraged China to become a global actor that
does business in every corner of the world.
To the surprise of Chinese policymakers, China’s macroeconomic suc-
cess has elevated China to become the world’s second-largest economy.
After China became involved in international affairs as a UNand WTO
member state, the question “who is China?” has become more evident.
The “new-old” questions raised by John K. Fairbank (1966) still remain:
“Communist China? – How far Communist? How far Chinese?” A second
important issue is how to build equal status among the family of nations.
A third issue is how to evaluate the impact of China’s vast cultural heritage
and historical experiences on China’s international behavior (Fairbank,
1966, p. 574). We also follow up on the question raised by Samuel Kim:
How constant or changeable is Chinese foreign policy over time, espe-
cially in the transition from the Cold War to the post-Cold War era, and
why? (Kim, 1984, p. 25). From the perspective of this work, the core
question of how far China, as a rising power, is different from the West
might be considered as one of the most critical issues. Other fundamental
questions are: How does China place the United States within the format
of selective identities, and what are China’s primary reasons for group-
ing political actors with different types of identity, what for, and how was
this done? And finally, how does China build its position within the power
transition theory?
Revealing the actor’s postures and variety of foreign policy approaches
might explain behaviors in international relations. For a realist, the most
important issue is power when understood as a material factor that shapes
a state’s position in international relations, whereas for an idealist, the
dominant idea of “lasting peace” plays a more significant role. Finally, for
constructivists, identity and subjective knowledge are the driving forces of
state behavior (Ruggie, 1998, p. 855–860).
INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHINA’S… 3
The above research questions and puzzles are answered and discussed
from the social constructivist perspective. Constructivists of different
approaches agree on the fundamental point that “humans see the world
through perspectives, developed socially … [meaning] reality is social,
and what we see” out there “and within ourselves is developed in inter-
action with others” (Palan, 2000, p. 571–580). According to Alexander
Wendt, constructivism in an international relationship is characterized
more specifically by its “idealism.” The structures of human behaviors
are determined primarily by shared ideas rather than material forces,
and these shared ideas construct identities and interests of purposive
actors rather than being given by nature. Hans Morgenthau who was
named the father of political realism said: “we look over his [the states-
man’s] shoulder when he writes his dispatches; we listen in on conversa-
tions with other statesmen; we read and anticipate his very thoughts”
(Ibid.).
Social constructivism argues that the ideational structure shapes the
identity of the agent, and the structure in Wendt’s constructivism is not
material but cultural, defined by the distribution of ideas. Culture is
shared knowledge, which includes shared beliefs, understandings, and
expectations formed in the process of interaction among social beings.
The essence of international politics, in the view of Wendt, is ideas rather
than material capabilities. It adopts mainstream assumptions of construc-
tivism: cooperation among states is a social process and norms have
essential constitutive effects, with culture taking priority. The primary
model of interest and identity is transformed via interactions with exter-
nal others (Qin Yaqing, Wei Ling, 2008, p. 125). Under the constructiv-
ist approach, significant policy actions taken by the People’s Republic of
China are fundamentally based on spreading efforts to promote its status
via constructing and exercising different types of identities. As a conse-
quence, the Chinese hope to have a soft-influence and be different from
other global actors. Following the constructivist approach, it is not only
material issues that play an essential role in international relations.
Rhetoric, which is understood here as a diplomatic language and argu-
mentation, is also of crucial importance in shaping the understanding of
foreign policy motivations, especially in triangular relations conducted by
China with neighbors, significant powers, and developing countries. In
some respect, we follow the argument presented by Soren Clausen (1998)
4 D. MIERZEJEWSKI AND B. KOWALSKI
Equality-------------------------------------------Identity-------------------------------------Influence
as something that results from some property that the units that enjoy equality have
in common, that is, a standard descriptive property (cited after Higgins, 2012).
Taking into consideration the theoretical assumptions of building equal
status, the most crucial issue is to establish the relations based on the reci-
procity principle. Gouldner emphasized that reciprocity implies condi-
tional action: reciprocal behavior returns ill for ill as well as good for good:
“people should meet smiles with smiles and lies with treachery”—as
quoted by R. Keohane (1986). Robert Axelrod and Robert Keohane
(1986) argued that heading toward equality “seems to be the most effec-
tive strategy for maintaining cooperation among egoists.” Reciprocity is
also often invoked as an appropriate standard of behavior which can pro-
duce cooperation among actors in international society. From a broader
perspective, the discussion on global reciprocity encourages discussion
about global values and standards. Universal norms and rights enforced
through internal or external sanctions are morally justified only if they can
be reciprocally justified (Keohane, 1986, p. 1–12).
In the 1980s, during the Cold War period, the question of reciprocity
was raised by the advocates of liberal free trade. In the United States, the
discussion was derived from the trade imbalance with Japan. As declared,
reciprocity means “moving toward a balance with Japan rather than a big
surplus in their account trading with us” (Keohane, 1986, p. 14). More to
the point for social scientists, reciprocal obligations hold societies together.
Participants typically view diffuse reciprocity as an ongoing series of
sequential actions which entail mutual concessions within the context of
shared commitments and values (Ibid.).
Furthermore, the concept of reciprocity is defined as any stimulus by
one actor that “may be expected to bring about a proportionate response
in kind from the other” (Richardson et al., 1981, p. 130). Although the
above-quoted definitions answer the core question of understanding,
the problem of reciprocity’s measurement remains unanswered. Going
through the literature, we acknowledge difficulties in measuring equal-
ity, and we recognize the needs to be specified in each particular case.
In international relations, the reciprocal approaches have been mea-
sured with the equivalence of benefits (Temkin, 1993, p. 8). But accord-
ing to Koehane, in international relations, as in the social world, precise
measurement is often both impossible and inadequate: “Reciprocity
refers to exchanges of roughly equivalent values in which the actions of
each party are contingent on the prior actions of the others in such a
way that good is returned for good, and bad for bad. These exchanges
INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHINA’S… 7
are often, but not necessarily, mutually beneficial; they may be based on
self-interest as well as on shared concepts of rights and obligations, and
the value of what is exchanged may or may not be comparable” (Ibid.).
Most authors measure it by military spending analysis. These studies
attempt to determine whether power in global politics increased or
decreased its military spending in response to the trends shaped by the
adversary. The next approach of studies of the powers’ reciprocity
focuses on patterns of events rather than on military spending. These
studies analyze the causal links among countries’ cooperative or hostile
behaviors toward each other (Goldstein, Freeman, 1991, p. 19–20).
From this perspective, China is understood as the ideology, state, and
culture, and has grouped its partners according to similarities in iden-
tity, and by these means, builds a common platform for cooperation.
Through this imagined equal status, both sides of “China+” build the
reciprocal platform. The second meaning of reciprocity is an experience
in a particular and specific crisis. In fact, it might be driven by the short-
term ebb and flow of actions and reactions. The action taken to counter
the other side’s measures should be taken with a reciprocal approach
and illustrate the level of interaction. Based on this view, China groups
its neighboring countries by conflicting them with itself and by experi-
encing a territorial crisis which allows both sides to exercise reciprocity
of equal states (Ibid.).
Going further, reciprocity is recognized as a norm that establishes an
underlying level of expected behavior which serves to determine the pat-
tern of foreign policy interactions among players in international relations.
In the eyes of Schelling, there are different types of reciprocity: structural
and induced. This model assumes an ideal world where the parties’ incen-
tives are perfectly aligned. Such reciprocity exists in a world where the
players are in a purely common interest scenario. The second approach is
“induced reciprocity” and successfully binds each player’s strategy to that
of its opponent. Here, reciprocity creates symmetric constraints for the
players’ strategy. When a player chooses to cooperate, it knows and is sure
that the other player will also collaborate. It means there is no incentive
left for unilateral actions, or for that matter any other type of defensive
strategy.
Regarding the Chinese understanding of equality, the majority of
assumptions and considerations are placed within the Confucian school
that was highly focused on secular and material issues. The core concern
for those who administer and manage society and state should be the
8 D. MIERZEJEWSKI AND B. KOWALSKI
taken by the actor (Straub, 2002, p. 60–61). On the one hand, during a
crisis, loyalty toward the state-nation and cultural system was formed, but
on the other unity and integrity were tested (Dai Xiaodong, 2006, p. 5–6).
Moreover, the inherent parts of identity include personal characteristics
such as the ability to bind anxiety, to perform efficiently in the face of tur-
moil, and self-esteem; independence of external pressure; autonomy and
self-directedness; and changes in self-esteem and conformity. The concept
of identity in sociological theories of the subject includes the idea of lim-
ited independence. In fact, the self is limited, provisional, and fragile, and
is recognized in the process of interaction with others (Straub, 2002).
The basic theories in international relationships differentiate two types
of identity: Wendtian Liberal Convergent Identity and Smittian Realist
Discrete Identity. The first type of identity involves the possibility of build-
ing a collective identity, the second places emphasis on the differentiation
between “you” and “me,” and a definition of the enemy. In line with the
first type of identity, the primary issue is about building a common plat-
form of understanding toward constructing the universal character of
China’s global behavior as the benevolent, idealistic power, while in the
second forming the enemy and the quest for being accepted are essential
(Dong Qingling, 2010, p. 69). The behavior of an international actor
should be understood via three significant perspectives: the active and
constructive participant of the international system; the actor who has no
impact on global affairs and is part of the status quo; and finally the actor
who hopes to challenge the system because it perceives itself as a non-
member of a community. Moreover, as mentioned by Qin Yaqing (2010),
the active identity is divided into three social identity subgroups: identity
forced and dominated by another as China was during the Opium War
regime and as a forced ally with the Soviet Union; the second type referred
to maintaining the identity’s stability and interests, where the actor remains
passive as in the 1980s and early 1990s when China concentrated on its
economic development; and finally when it actively participates in the
international community based on its identity and cultural heritage like
China has from the beginning of the twenty-first century (Qin Yaqing,
2010, p. 349–351). More specifically, the construction of identity, as
quoted by Chinese scholars, as in Darwinism and Marxian philosophy,
depends on an actor’s economic strength and material power. Along with
growing material power, the identity changes its face with an enhance-
ment in the level of interaction and participation in global affairs. The
creation of one’s own identity inevitably results in a quest for universal
INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHINA’S… 11
language itself is the power that has shaped the international system, and
the system is a material product of non-material factors. Argumentation
and communication are not merely elements of international order but in
fact are the source of global society (Guzzini, Leander, 2006). Without
language nothing is possible. Furthermore, domination in the sphere of
language has provided a basis for the construction of a truth regime (Sun
Jisheng, 2007, p. 65). Following this understanding, language might play
a role in shaping bilateral and multilateral relations, placing pressure or
building peaceful and harmonious relationships. On the other hand, as
mentioned by Ivere Neumann, we assume that language makes points of
reference and contextualizes reality (Stenseth, 1998, p. 29–30).
Although Chinese identity was shaped by its interaction with Manchu
since the seventeenth century, the significant factors that created China’s
status are contained in the Middle Kingdom’s understanding of its past
both from the nineteenth century and regarding itself as a victim of the
West like other colonial countries, as well as by building relationships with
developing countries. The influential factors shaping China’s international
identity are: history—the mentality of a significant power but also the
complex of a victim and the memory of being defeated; state-oriented fac-
tors: material power and ideological independence; international-oriented
elements: international systems, global processes, and the psychological
profile of the leadership (Zhou Pinyun, 2006, p. 396–402). The growing
interaction with outside actors has provoked China to formulate its system
with its values, drawing the border between “I” and “he” and finally
strengthening the uniqueness of the actor. The identity was formed in the
process of movement and interaction. As mentioned by Pan Wei (2010)
due to the contacts with others, the Ming and Qing Dynasties identified
themselves as different from foreigners. The next step was taken after the
Opium Wars. Although the late Qing dynasty took the pro-nation state
reforms, in 1905 China officially established the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and turned away from its tributary system. After being forced to
join the Westphalia system, China experienced the first crisis and dilemma:
why had the Middle Kingdom been defeated by “barbarians”? The unequal
treaties and “one hundred years of humiliation” created a basis for shaping
China’s identity. According to Kang Youwei, the biggest challenge for
China’s tributary system was not even caused by the Western powers but
by the Japanese victory in 1895. The subordinate defeated the superior.
China’s next identity crisis was when it was part of the coalition with the
Soviet Union in the early 1950s. Mao’s China needed to shape its own
14 D. MIERZEJEWSKI AND B. KOWALSKI
identity contrary to that of “big brother” which finally led to Mao Zedong
presenting a new form of utopian government during the Cultural
Revolution (Xu Zhouyun, 2010). The Chinese felt and were perceived as
the “other” in the state-oriented system. However, breaking with mistrust
and suspicion became the dominant theme of China’s identity as a positive
power. This was the consequence of China’s post-Mao identity and the
country’s strategy of step-by-step development. The next crisis in the era
of reform arrived after the Tian’anmen 1989 isolation, with the US and
European embargo becoming the catalyst for the breakthrough concern-
ing China realizing its differences. At that time Deng Xiaoping announced
taoguang yanghui—a low profile concept as the leading principle of
China’s foreign behavior. After being in the shadow of the West, the
Chinese leadership tried to shape China’s new identity in two different
ways: using military tools and economic interdependence. The first unsuc-
cessful attempt of venturing out into the world after 1989 was the Taiwan
Crisis in the mid-1990s. The use of military forces signaled China’s readi-
ness to become a member of the international order. However, the failure
of re-joining the world via military means proved that the idea of peaceful
coexistence via trade should have been exercised through Chinese diplo-
macy (Yan Xuetong, 2014). As mentioned by Men Honghua (2007),
because of the Asian crisis and the passive stance that China adopted as it
came out of the shadow of isolation, it failed to respond to the American
military domination manifested for example by the bombing of China’s
Embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo War (Liu Mang, 2007, p. 147).
The needs of being different from others pushed China into portraying
and repeating the peaceful image of its international behavior. Its level of
interaction with the world and its embracing of globalization have gener-
ated some challenges and obstacles for China’s idealistic vision of the
world. After Washington was engaged in the war against terrorism, China
was named as a responsible stakeholder by Robert Zoellick in 2005. As a
brief observation states, although China compromises on some issues, it
mostly sticks to its principles. The problem should be explained by the
social approach framework. Apart from language and rhetorical strategies,
China shapes its behavior based on principles rooted in the 1950s’ narra-
tive of the five principles of peaceful coexistence, namely: mutual respect
for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-
aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equal-
ity, and cooperation for mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence (Zhou
Enlai, 1954).
INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHINA’S… 15
single self-entity but has grouped other players into one basket with
China. This situation is visible in each particular case of being a state, a
civilization, and an ideology. In the first case, China’s state identity is
shaped by two processes: first by Chinese foreign investment and the
need for protecting its people, and second by experiencing territorial
disputes with neighbors, especially with Japan. The second type of iden-
tity was based on the group of developing countries where the Middle
Kingdom is placed among equals which shared a similar historical back-
ground and experiences. Here the core ideas of justice and equality have
been transmitted. By being together with developing countries, the PRC
allows itself to find equal partners in international relations. The third
chosen cultural identity allowed China to play the role of an equal part-
ner in its relations with Europe and the United States. From the per-
spective discussed earlier, China feels comfortable with being among the
developed countries and can enjoy its status. Moreover, the understand-
ing of the selective identities of “three in one” (san weiyiti 三位一体)
means that China is not eager to play a dominant role by itself but rather
within a group of countries. This approach reflects both China’s inclu-
sive approach and its very cautious strategic tactics. On the one hand,
this method is rooted in the Chinese culture of inclusiveness that is
focused not only one country but also on inviting countries with similar
historical experiences, cultural heritage, and need to build statehood as
well as identities. However, this approach is also a product of China’s
interaction with different types of actors. By conducting relations with
developing and developed countries as well as its neighbors, China
shapes its identities. The process of communication is, in fact, a method
of establishing relations and also a means of mutually influencing and
reshaping each other’s identity and interests. Any identity is path-depen-
dent and subject to the flux of historical events and processes. Since the
era of reforms in 1978, China has changed not only in behavior but also
in identity, both of which are interrelated and correlated. China has
struggled over the threshold of becoming a member of international
society and has evolved in the last three decades from a revisionist power
to one that was detached before finally becoming a status quo power.
The identity shift, the institutional selection, and norm acceptance have
all been peaceful. The triangular identity presents itself as a core, domi-
nant approach that allows China to raise peacefully (Zhu Liqun, 2010,
p. 38–40).
INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHINA’S… 17
and as a dynamic force for change that they identify with and are inspired
to support through their actions. The collective identity develops within
an imagined world or, to use another term, a figured world (Holland et al.
1998). The definition of collectiveness is based on two primary dimen-
sions: belonging and action. Standard definitions of collective identity in
anthropology and other social sciences emphasize identity concerning dif-
ference. This approach assumes that people who are considered culturally,
racially, ethnically, nationally, or in some other way are distinctive in that
they have a basis for solidarity and individual belonging. In international
relations, similar to the process of building collective self through the
nation-state paradigm, we acknowledge that collective identity is placed as
an important pillar of the current international scene. This process is par-
ticularly visible in big power politics. On the one hand, building coalitions
is based on material premises, but on the other is supported by values,
understanding, and finally as identity platforms. By grouping countries
together, either by their own decision or by third parties, new alliances or
blocs form through the collective identity assigned to them, even if some-
times this assignment is based on inaccurate binary groupings. Regardless
of the accuracy of these groupings, the very act of grouping these countries
affects how the international system views them and thus treats them. This,
in turn, causes the countries to identify with each other regarding their
common position internationally. Following A. Wendt (1999), understand-
ing the corporate/collective identity of the state generates four basic inter-
ests or features: “physical security, including its differentiation from other
actors, ontological security or predictability in relationships to the world,
which creates a desire for stable social identities, recognition as an actor by
others, above and beyond survival through brute force, development, in
the sense of meeting the human aspiration for a better life, for which states
are repositories at the collective level” (Wendt, 1999, p. 384–396).
The first step in the process of building collective identity is the increas-
ing interdependence among entities that interact with each other. This can
take on at least two forms. One discussed by Buzan (1983) and Ruggie
(1983) is an increase in the “dynamic density and substance” of interac-
tions due to, for example, trade and capital flows. This provides the emer-
gence of a “common other,” whether personified in an external aggressor
or a more abstract threat like nuclear war or ecological collapse (Lasswell,
1972, p. 24). While one generates “dilemmas of common interests” and
the other “dilemmas of common hostility” (Stein, 1983), both increase
the objective vulnerability and sensitivity of actors to each other (Keohane,
INTRODUCTION: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHINA’S… 19
rather than enforce its will on partners. To a certain extent, China fol-
lows this understanding based on power transition, when a dominant
power leads by creating satisfaction rather than fear, cooperation rather
than conflict, and the sharing of resources rather than fights over
resource allocation. The core problem for China in constructing its ris-
ing status is how to escape from the Western logic of rising powers? As
history teaches us, dominant powers consider preventive wars as the
most important means of eliminating the threats and challenges posed
by rising powers. On the other hand, the hegemon can respond by
reducing commitments, forming new alliances, rapprochements, and
appeasing challengers.
Following the constructivist approach rather the realist perspective, we
embed the power transition within the international society concept.
From the constructivist perspective, China became a member of global
society that is defined by Watson as a group of states or political communi-
ties which form a system by dialog and shared principles and institutions
for the conduct of their relations (Zhang Yongjin, 1991, p. 3–16).
Following Watson’s understanding, international society is a particular
form of human association that is thought to include and somehow orga-
nizes the relations among different political communities. Hedley Bull
once wrote that an international society exists when “a group of states,
conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society
in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set
of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of
community” (Watson, 1987, p. 149). By articulating the research agenda
based on China’s three selected identities, we argue that China builds
three different types of international society. It goes against globalization
understood as unification and Americanization and presents a kind of
alternative to existing world orders. This approach is rather based on
China’s cultural narrative of unity in diversity, a world for all human
beings, or a more utopian understanding of “great unity” (datong).
Within this framework, China builds and exercises its social influence.
The concept of social impact is recognized as the process by which indi-
viduals make real changes to their feelings and behaviors as a result of
interaction with others who are perceived to be similar. In this concept,
the social power concept is described as an individual’s potentiality for
influencing one or more other persons toward acting or changing in a
given direction. According to this definition, social power is the ability to
exert interpersonal influence (Levinger, 1959, p. 83).
22 D. MIERZEJEWSKI AND B. KOWALSKI