Identity and Security Discourse: The Rise of China and Asia-Pacific Security
Submitting Institution
Liverpool John Moores UniversityUnit of Assessment
Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management Summary Impact Type
PoliticalResearch Subject Area(s)
Studies In Human Society: Political Science
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Summary of the impact
The emergence of China as a global actor has attracted enormos attention
from academics, policy-makers, journalists and business leaders. The
outside world knows little about the perceptions of China's policy elites
and their internal debates. By offering an in-depth, systematic and
theoretically grounded analysis of Chinese discourse, this research has
revitalised the on-going academic and policy debate on the nature and
repercussions of China's ascendency. Key findings of the research have
been used to stimulate debate at the highest level in governments and
diplomatic circles on how best to respond to the changing security
environment in the Asia-Pacific region and the rise of China as a global
actor in particular. Dr Rex Li has been regularly invited to offer his
analyses and insights at policy discussion meetings at leading UK foreign
and security policy think-tanks attended by experts and officials of the
Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Underpinning research
This research is undertaken and led by Dr Rex Li, Reader in International
Journalism and International Relations at Liverpool John Moores
University. It began in the mid-1990s as part of a wider project on
international relations in the Pacific Rim funded by the ESRC. The
research is part of an on-going process to analyse the changing security
environment in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing in particular on the rise
of China as a great power and its regional and global implications.
Specifically, the project has examined the security discourse of Chinese
policy elites on the major powers in East Asia in relation to China's
self-perception as a rising power. The central argument of the project is
that a country's security perceptions are shaped by the desire and efforts
of its policy elites to construct a distinct national identity. While
acknowledging the relevance of material forces such as power and
capability, the research has explored the significance of ideational
factors such as values, norms and identity. It draws upon the theoretical
insights of various academic disciplines, including International
Relations, Media Studies, Sociology and Social Psychology.
When this research started in the mid-1990s, China's power and influence
were relatively limited. Since then China has become much more powerful in
both economic and military terms. Moreover, China's political influence on
many regional and global issues has increased substantially. Meanwhile,
the scale and intensity of its interactions with the wider world have been
dramatically augmented. The project has tracked, dissected and analysed
the changing discourse of Chinese policy elites for over 15 years.
The discourse analysis in this project is based on extensive interviews
and a wide range of Chinese-language sources that are not readily
available in the West. Most of the documentary sources consulted are
produced mainly for domestic audiences. They are published by the
organisations that are considered to have substantial input into China's
foreign policy and/or significant impact on the security debates among
Chinese elites. The value of the source materials lies in their authors'
unique positions in China's foreign policy-making process. In addition,
the project has utilised information that has been gathered through off
the record interviews and public discussions with many Chinese scholars
and think-tanks specialists.
The key research insights of this project indicate that Chinese elites
perceive the power, aspirations and security strategies of other major
countries or actors, such as America, Russia, Japan and the European
Union, primarily in terms of their implications for China's construction
of a great power identity. The findings published in various well-reviewed
books and prestigious journals demonstrate that China is deeply
apprehensive of the strategic intentions of the US and Japan, and that
Chinese suspicion of Russia is minimal, at least for the time being
(please see Section 3 for details of publications). The Chinese discourse
of the EU is much more positive, which is treated as a significant force
in an emerging multipolar world that China has been trying to promote
since the end of the Cold War. The research does not indicate that China
will seek to confront America and Japan in the near future. This is
because Chinese elites are well aware of the fact that China's military
capabilities are not as strong as those of the two East Asian powers. They
also understand that a confrontation with them would be detrimental to
Chinese economic interests, making it more difficult for China to fulfil
its great power aspirations. However, should Chinese leaders fail to
attain their national goals through existing strategies, there is no
guarantee that they will not pursue a belligerent policy towards the US
and Japan. After all, the Chinese writings examined in this project
clearly reveal a discursive construction of the two countries as
threatening `others', who seek to undermine China's efforts to achieve a
great power status. This partly explains why China has become more
assertive in dealing with its territorial disputes with Japan and South
East Asian countries in the past few years. It can also explain China's
strong reactions to the Obama administration's re-balancing strategy in
the Asia-Pacific region (ref 2, ref 4: chapters 2-6, refs 5 and 6).
An important question that is often raised in the rise of China debate is
whether and to what extent China will respect the rules and norms of
international society. The research findings indicate that China has
adopted a strategy of integrating itself into the existing system, while
seeking to exert influence on the agenda, rules and operation of various
international institutions and regimes wherever possible. The evidence
suggests that China is hoping to use its involvement in a wide range of
international bodies to enhance its great power status. It also suggests
that the long-term goal of Chinese elites is to gradually reshape the
norms and rules of the international society to reflect China's growing
power and its expanding global interests. Many Chinese elites support the
notion of China's `peaceful rise', but they also believe in the utility of
military force in achieving Chinese national goals. The internal debate
among Chinese elites on China's `peaceful rise' does not provide
conclusive evidence as to whether it is a reflection of short-term
considerations aiming to minimise potential obstruction to China's
ascendancy, or a long-term strategy that would renounce the use of force
in fulfilling its great power aspirations (ref 1, ref 4: Chapters 6
and 7).
Another significant research insight is related to the impact of China's
domestic development on its foreign policy. While most observers expect
China to grow continuously, there are numerous domestic problems that may
derail China's economic progress and cause instability in Chinese society.
This would have significant repercussions on China's external relations.
For example, China might opt for an assertive or adventurous foreign
policy as a result of internal factors such as serious economic crises,
social and political turmoil, rising nationalistic sentiments, and
pressure from some quarters of the military. A main conclusion derived
from the research is that the West must prepare for various scenarios of a
rising China, including the security implications of a strong but chaotic
China (ref 1, ref 4: Chapters 1 and 7).
Chinese security discourse is shaped by China's self-identity as an
ascending power, the regional and international security environment, and
external responses to its rise to a great power status. If perception is
socially constructed, it may be altered via the development of
intersubjective knowledge, ideas, norms and institutions. Indeed, the
research demonstrates that Chinese elites' security discourse has
undergone considerable changes over the past two decades due partly to
China's increasing interactions with Western and other Asian countries.
The research findings indicate that the internalisation of international
norms in Chinese identity formation, and cultivation of intersubjective
ideas of `other-help' and `collective identity' between China and its
Asian neighbours would help curtail the tendency of belligerent behaviour
as China grows stronger. China should therefore be persuaded that the
success of its emergence as a `responsible great power' will rest on its
willingness and ability to establish a stable and cooperative relationship
with other major actors in the world, particularly the great powers in
East Asia. One of the major conclusions arising from this work is that it
is important for Western analysts and policy-makers to monitor Chinese
security discourse closely, which has been changing considerably in the
past few years. This has had a significant impact on China's foreign
policy as its economic power and political influence are increasing (refs
1 and 3, ref 4: chapters 6 and 7, and ref 6).
References to the research
1. Rex Li, "The China Challenge: Theoretical Perspectives and Policy
Implications", Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 8, No. 22,
November 1999, pp. 443-476. ISSN: 1067-0564
2. Rex Li, "Partners or Rivals? Chinese Perceptions of Japan's Security
Strategy in the Asia-Pacific Region", The Journal of Strategic Studies,
Vol. 22, No. 4, December 1999, pp. 1-25. ISSN: 0140-2390
3. Rex Li, "China and Regional Security: External Perceptions and
Responses", in Annelies Hejimans, Nicola Simmonds and Hans van de Veen,
eds., Searching for Peace in Asia-Pacific, Lynne Rienner, New
York, 2005, pp. 181-201. ISBN: 1-58826-239-1
4. Rex Li, A Rising China and Security in East Asia: Identity
Construction and Security Discourse, Routledge, London, 2009. 320
pages. ISBN: 978-0-415-44940-3 (listed in REF 2)
5. Rex Li, "A Regional Partner or a Threatening Other? Chinese Discourse
of Japan's Changing Security Role in East Asia", in Christopher M. Dent,
ed., China, Japan and Regional Leadership in East Asia, Edward
Elgar, Cheltenham, 2010, pp. 101-128. (listed in REF 2)
6. Rex Li, "National Identity and Changing Great Power Relations in the
Asia-Pacific: Is a Cold War Emerging?", The Asan Forum,
July-August, 2013, pp. 1-16. ISSN: 2288-5757 (listed in REF 2)
The research has been supported by various research councils and funding
authorities, including the ESRC, AHRC, the European Centre for Conflict
Prevention, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (a Swedish foundation). The main
research grants coming into LJMU include the following:
• Ian Cook, Marcus Doel and Rex Li, Pacific Rim Seminar Series, ESRC,
1993-1995, £10,000.
• Rex Li, East Asian Peace Project, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond/Uppsala
University, 2012-2013, £45,000.
The main outputs of this research in the current REF period include 12
papers presented at international conferences and 4 articles in
peer-reviewed journals and refereed books.
The quality of all the outputs is demonstrated by a rigorous process of
peer-review before they are accepted for publication. The quality of the
main output (No. 4 — the monograph listed above) has been widely
recognised by scholars in the field. For example, a review in a leading
international relations journal published by the Royal Institute of
International Affairs refers to the book as `an important book, which
should be read by all those with an interest in Chinese foreign affairs
and international security' including practitioners. (International
Affairs, Vol. 85, No. 4, July 2009, pp. 909-910). A top China
studies journal based in Australia also concludes that the book is
`particularly valuable' in providing `a bridge between Chinese experts
writing on their perception of the world and dominant Western theories on
international relations' (The China Journal, No. 63, January 2010,
pp. 232-234). An independent Russian international relations journal
sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation published a long review of the book
with the judgment that it is `a rich and well-crafted study' which `will
be useful to a wide range of readers, especially those who are interested
in the problems of the Asia-Pacific region and China's role in world
politics' (International Trends: Journal of International Relations
Theory and World Politics, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010). Indeed, Times
Higher Education concurs that the book provides `a useful overview
of Chinese thinking about the world' (22 October 2009).
Details of the impact
The research is essentially concerned with gaining a thorough
understanding of China's perceptions of other significant countries in
relation to its self-perception as a rising power. How China perceives
itself and the outside world is of huge importance to its neighbours and
the international community. As the research findings of the project are
particularly relevant to the needs of the foreign and security policy
community in Whitehall, the project leader Dr Rex Li has been regularly
invited to give presentations derived from his research insights at
leading international affairs and security think-tanks and government
departments in the last decade. [text removed for publication]
Specifically, the research insights on Chinese security discourse and its
impact on China's foreign policy and regional and international security
have been used to contribute to the policy discussions in official and
diplomatic circles and to inform foreign and security policy-making in the
UK. [text removed for publication]
Sources to corroborate the impact
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