Chinese Concepts and Relational International Politics

Abstract

The rise of China troubles the taken-for-granted epistemological and ontological constitution of International Relations (IR) theory. The Greek term 'theoria' implied travelling to foreign locales with the aim of gaining illumination that can then simultaneously inform and transform the 'home' of the traveler. Yet, instead of travelling, IR theory engages in silencing. This paper undertakes an interpretative journey of China's IR concepts. In particular, it looks at the notion of guanxi-one of the two terms that goes into the Chinese phrase for International Relations (guoji guanxi). The contention is that 'relationality' renders a more accurate translation of guanxi in English. In the process, the paper uncovers the practices of 'international relationality' as an opportunity to redefine the 'international' as a co-dependent space where two or more actors (despite their divergences) can interface into a dialogical community.

Differentiation, dominance and democratic congruence: A relational view

“…In part, the relational lens allows us to shift our concerns progressively from the survival of states to the survival of the planet (Burke et al, 2016), and in the process ask what kind of differentiation is more conducive to the agenda of planetary politics. In doing so, we need to take seriously the idea that practices of 'international relationality' constitute an opportunity to "redefine the 'international' as a co-dependent space where two or more actors (despite their divergences) can interface into a dialogical community' (Kavalski, 2018). In this view, relations need to be understood as 'shooting through' levels of analysis, local and domestic politics, the inter-national and the global (Kurki, 2020).…”