Guanxi or what is the Chinese for relational theory of world politics

Kavalski, Emilian (2018) Guanxi or what is the Chinese for relational theory of world politics. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 18 (3). pp. 397-420. ISSN 1470-4838

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Abstract

The phenomenon of China’s rise has urged some to look for International Relations (IR) theories with ‘Chinese characteristics’. A number of these have been associated with the ‘relational turn’. Yet, attempts to bring the Anglophone and the Sinophone strands of the relational turn have failed to transcend the bifurcating metanarrative of the mainstream. To rectify this trend, the analysis engages the literatures on guanxi, the relational turn, and Chinese IR and develops a normative claim about the underlying relationality of knowledge production in post-Western IR. The contention is: (i) that the criticism of substantialism offered by the Anglophone literature on the relational turn fails to overcome its Eurocentrism; (ii) that by subscribing to the epistemic duality of the West vs. the non-West, the Sinophone literature has aborted the political promise of the concept of guanxi. The study deploys guanxi to amplify the intrinsic relationality both of global life and the realms of IR.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific following peer review. The version of record Emilian Kavalski; Guanxi or What is the Chinese for Relational Theory of World Politics, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Volume 18, Issue 3, 1 September 2018, Pages 397–420 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcy008.
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham Ningbo China > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of International Studies
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcy008
Depositing User: QIU, Lulu
Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2018 15:36
Last Modified: 03 Jun 2020 04:30
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/55567

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