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Alexander Wendt's Constructivism In China

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INTRODUCTION (1)

Over the past few decades, one of the most discussed debates has been about the rapid rise of China. However, it is unclear whether the growth of China will lead to revolutionary political upheavals or to a gradual and non-violent redistribution of the world’s power, most significantly, will China’s rise lead to conflict?

Since Deng Xiaoping took over the leadership of the country, in 1978, the People 's Republic of China has started on the path of domestic reform, opening to the outside world. Four generations of leaders - after Deng was the turn of Jiang Zemin, then Hu Jintao and now Xi Jinping - have led a demographically and geographically immense country and an extremely complex society, which was technologically backward, …show more content…

The constructivist approach, according to Wendt, is based on two assumptions: social structures are constituted by ideas and not by the material elements; identities and interests of the actors are influenced by these social structures. Therefore, constructivism can be seen as a kind of "structural idealism" (Wendt, 1999). Unlike the neoliberal theory, constructivism affirms that the most significant international relations aspects depend on society and history (Jackson & Sorensen, 2006). Wendt 's constructivism is state-centred just like neo-realism and neo-liberalism. It differs from these approaches for the rejection of exogenous conception of national interests. The constructivist theory advocates that states do not have pre-formed identities and interests. They are formed in the process of interaction and are transformed under anarchy in three ways: 1) by the institution of sovereignty; 2) by an evolution of cooperation; 3) by intentional efforts to transform egoistic identities into collective identities. In other words, “identities and interests are constituted by collective meanings that are always in process” (Wendt, …show more content…

I have chosen to use neoliberal institutionalism and constructivism theories to analyse the rise of China. By China’s rise, I mean the growth of China’s power to a position of supremacy in the international system. China’s rise has been widely anticipated throughout the 20th century. However, it is only since the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre that there has been evidence that China’s power is actually rising. Neoliberal institutionalism will help clarify China’s understanding of global and regional cooperation in the pursuit of growth and common interests. Employing constructivism will help elucidate how China’s identity has influenced its behaviour in the international

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It is heavily influenced from the Groation tradition. According to this perspective, regimes are much more pervasive and exist in all areas of international relations. Contrary to the conventional structure and modified structural, this viewpoint moves away from realist thinking as it is “too limited to explain an increasingly complex, interdependent, and complex world.” This approach rejects the assumption that the international system is comprised of states and the balance of power is solely due to force. Rather, it argues that elites are the principal actors and that they have national and transnational ties.

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Unlike structural realism, constructivist social theory argues that “States act differently toward enemies than they do toward friends because enemies are threatening and friends are not. Anarchy and the distribution of power are insufficient to tell us which is which”(Wendt, 79). Based on Wendt’s philosophy, whether the international system is conflictual or peaceful is not due to anarchy and power but due the shared relations and social practices between states. By interacting with other states, Wendt argues that identities will form based on diplomatic gestures, which means states can be able to achieve peaceful relations. Simply put, anarchy does not control conflictual relationships between states.

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Therefore, it provides differences between the status quo power and progressive states, while maintaining and emphasizing the importance of government at the same time. In contrary, Structural Realism is more concerned on ensuring their survival, by seeking and maintaining that power. Structural Realism would treat states as they are black boxes: they are assumed to be alike (Mearsheimer). Furthermore, Classical Realism and Structural Realism differ in their views of interconnection in international politics, fundamentally what causes the observed outcomes in relations among states. Classical Realists believe that the international world is one of interacting states, and causes run in one direction.

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Constructivists reject such a one-sided material focus. They argue that the most important aspect of international relations is social, not material. Constructivists have demonstrated that ‘ideas matter’ in international relations. They have shown that culture and identity help define the interests and constitute the actors in IR. All students of IR should be familiar with the important debates raised by constructivists, about basic social theory and about the different ways in which ideas can matter in international relations.

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