Identity Politics in the Post-American World Order: ‘The Great America’ versus New China Identity

Year 2018, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 317 - 340, 31.10.2018

Filiz Çoban Oran

https://doi.org/10.31454/usb.476898

Abstract

The realist paradigm in International Relations Theory argues that the recent rise of China as an economic power would push China to offensive politics as a ‘threat’ to other states. Specifically, to obstruct the rise of China as a regional hegemon the USA follows a containment strategy towards Beijing. Contrary to that, in the Chinese Studies it is claimed that peace and harmony policy in China’s foreign policy has been maintained since the Imperial period and it is highlighted that ‘the new China’ does not pursue great power politics. With a purpose of testing these rival argumentations, this study looks at the USA’s China threat perception from a perspectives of post-structuralism. For this aim, first it searches the historical evolution of China’s foreign policy and observes in which direction China has been rising in the 21th century. On doing so, this research exposes two findings: Despite China has a traditional pacifist foreign policy discourse, the USA’s perception of new Chinese identity as a ‘threat’ serves to its redefinition and empowerment of its place in the world in the 21th century; this perception of the USA paradoxically makes new China follow an ‘active defence strategy’ which would orient its foreign policy to offensive politics.

Keywords

United States foreign policy, China threat, Post-structuralism, Identity Politics, Discourse

Post-Amerikan Dünya Düzeninde Kimlik Politikaları: Yeni Çin Kimliğine Karşı ‘Büyük Amerika’

Abstract

Uluslararası İlişkiler Teorilerinde realist paradigma son dönemde ekonomik bir güç olarak yükselişinin Çin’i diğer devletler için ‘tehdit’ oluşturan saldırgan politikalara iteceğini iddia etmektedir. Özellikle ABD, Çin’in bölgesel bir hegemon güç olmaması için Pekin’i çevreleme stratejisi izlemektedir. Buna karşı, Çin Çalışmalarında Çin dış politikasında barış ve uyum politikalarının imparatorluk döneminden beri sürdürüldüğü iddia edilmekte ve ‘yeni Çin’in’ büyük güç politikaları izlemediğinin altı çizilmektedir. Bu karşıt iddiaları sınamak amacıyla bu çalışma, ABD’nin Çin tehdidi algısına post-yapısalcı perspektifle bakmaktadır. Bunun amaçla, öncelikle Çin dış politikasını tarihsel olarak ele alıp 21. yüzyılda Çin yükselişinin ne yönde olduğunu araştırmaktadır. Bu araştırmayla iki sonuca ulaşılmaktadır: Çin’in geleneksel pasifist dış politika söylemine rağmen ABD’nin yeni Çin kimliğini kendine ‘tehdit’ olarak görmesi 21. yüzyılda ABD’nin dünyadaki yerini yeniden tanımlama ve güçlendirmesine de hizmet etmektedir; ABD’nin bu yaklaşımı paradoksal biçimde yeni Çin’i saldırgan politikalara yöneltebilecek ‘aktif savunma’ stratejisi izlemesine neden olmaktadır.

Keywords

ABD dış politikası, Çin tehdidi, Post-yapısalcılık, Kimlik politikaları, Söylem

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