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.

Keywords

• Guanxi,relationality,post-Western International Relations,Chinese International Relations,relational International Relations

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