INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS STUDIES IN CHINA: FROM IDEOLOGY-FOREIGN POLICY-BASED APPROACHES TO KNOWLEDGE-BASED HOMEGROWN THEORIZING

Year 2023, Volume: 10 Issue: 3, 2072 - 2092, 30.11.2023

Ümit Alperen , Timuçin Kodaman

https://doi.org/10.30798/makuiibf.1281630

Abstract

This paper explores the historical relationship between homegrown theorization in the discipline of international relations in China and its changing position in the international system. Since China's opening reforms in 1978, the country has increasingly integrated into the Western-centered international system, resulting in significant economic, political, and military growth. As a consequence, the international system's center of gravity has shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This has led to a growing interest among international relations scholars in analyzing China using theories that are shaped by Chinese ideology, history, and tradition. This study argues that the motivation for studying non-ideological international relations and homegrown theorization in China is a result of the country's process of integrating with the world and repositioning itself within the global system. Overall, this study contributes to the ongoing debate in international relations about the diversity of theoretical perspectives and the need to recognize the intellectual contributions of non-Western countries. By focusing on China's homegrown theorization in international relations, this study provides insights into the evolution of the discipline and highlights the challenges associated with incorporating non-Western perspectives into the mainstream.

Keywords

International relations, China, Homegrown theory, Rising power, Chinese Characteristics

ÇİN’DE ULUSLARARASI İLİŞKİLER ÇALIŞMALARI: İDEOLOJİK-DIŞ POLİTİKA TEMELLİ YAKLAŞIMLARDAN BİLGİ TEMELLİ YEREL TEORİLEŞMEYE

Abstract

Bu makale, Çin’de uluslararası ilişkiler ve yerel teori çalışmalarını Çin’in uluslararası sistemdeki değişen konumu arasındaki ilişkiyi tarihsel bağlamda tartışmaktadır. Çin’in 1978’de başlattığı Açılım Reformları ile Çin, Batı-merkezli uluslararası sisteme daha fazla entegre olmaya başlamıştır. Aynı zamanda bu reformlar Çin’in ekonomik, politik, askeri olarak güçlenmesine ve bu gelişmelerin bir çıktısı olarak da uluslararası sistemin merkezinin Atlantik’ten Pasifik’e kaymasında etkili olmuştur. Dolayısıyla Çin’in uluslararası sistemle artan angajmanı, Çinli karar alıcıların da teşvikiyle uluslararası ilişkiler uzmanlarını, kendi düşünce sistemleri, tarihleri ve geleneklerinden üretilmiş uluslararası ilişkiler teorileri ile açıklamaya sevketmektedir. Bu çalışma, de ideoloji-dışı uluslararası ilişkiler ve yerel teori çalışmalarında motive edici faktörün Çin’in dünya ile entegre süreci ve kendisini küresel sistem içinde yeniden konumlandırmasının bir neticesi olduğunu savunmaktadır. Genel olarak, bu çalışma uluslararası ilişkilerde teorik bakış açılarının çeşitliliği ve Batı-dışı ülkelerin entelektüel katkılarını tanıma ihtiyacı hakkında süregelen tartışmalara katkıda bulunmaya çalışmaktadır. Ayrıca, Çin-merkezli uluslararası ilişkilerde yerel teorileştirme çalışmalarına odaklanarak, disiplinin evrimine dair bir gözlem sağlamakta ve Batı-dışı bakış açılarını ana akıma dahil etmenin getirdiği zorlukları incelemektedir.

Keywords

Uluslararası ilişkiler, Çin, Yerel teori, Yükselen güç, Çin karakteristiği

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