Rethinking Democracy in Chinese Discourse: A Post-Structuralist Analysis of the White Paper “China: Democracy That Works”

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 14 Sayı: 1 , 37 - 55 , 02.04.2026

Zeynep Çağla Erin

https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.1822042

https://izlik.org/JA43FJ95EK

Öz

In this research, the democracy discourse deployed in China’s “China: Democracy That Works” white paper is examined through a post-structuralist lens. This seeks to understand, through discourse analysis, how the white paper dismantles the democracy standards set in the West and constructs a China-oriented “whole-process people’s democracy” model. The analysis is based on three fundamentals: (i) the intertwining of power and knowledge; (ii) the unraveling of meanings; and (iii) the formulation of cultural subjectivity. The analysis is limited to the text of the white paper and, broadly speaking, illustrates the argument that the discourse of democracy in China is a form of resisting Western domination. The new findings suggest that the discourse backs the concept of national democracy, consolidated through the narratives of Xi Jinping, while creating alternative realities about democracy in the world. This shifted focus on the discourse of democracy in China as a defiant act against Western domination also aims to broaden the discourse on normative struggle and post-structuralism. It seeks to address the emerging scholarship on the challenge to the Western model of democracy in the international relations discourse. It aims to analyze the discourse of “Chinese-style democracy” in the white paper along three principal axes.

Anahtar Kelimeler

China , post-structuralism , discourse analysis , democracy , white paper

Rethinking Democracy in Chinese Discourse: A Post-Structuralist Analysis of the White Paper “China: Democracy That Works”

https://izlik.org/JA43FJ95EK

Öz

Bu araştırmada, Çin'in "Çin’de İşleyen Demokrasi" adlı beyaz kitabında kullanılan demokrasi söylemi, post-yapısalcı bir bakış açısıyla incelenmektedir. Bu araştırma, söylem analizi yoluyla, beyaz kitabın Batı'da belirlenen demokrasi standartlarını nasıl parçalayıp Çin odaklı bir "tüm süreçli halk demokrasisi" modeli inşa ettiğini anlamlandırmaya çalışmaktadır. Analiz üç temele dayanmaktadır: (i) güç ve bilginin iç içe geçmesi; (ii) anlamların çözülmesi; ve (iii) kültürel öznelliğin formülasyonu. Analiz, beyaz kitabın metniyle sınırlıdır ve genel olarak, Çin'deki demokrasi söyleminin Batı egemenliğine karşı bir direniş biçimi olduğu argümanını örneklemektedir. Yeni bulgular söylemin, Şi Cinping'in anlatılarıyla pekiştirilen ulusal demokrasi kavramını desteklerken, dünyadaki demokrasi hakkında alternatif gerçeklikler yarattığını göstermektedir. Çin'deki demokrasi söyleminin Batı egemenliğine karşı meydan okuyan bir eylem olarak ele alınmasına odaklanan bu değişim, aynı zamanda normatif mücadele ve post-yapısalcılık söylemini de genişletmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Uluslararası ilişkiler söyleminde Batı demokrasi modeline yönelik meydan okuma üzerine ortaya çıkan çalışmaları ele almayı hedeflemektedir. Beyaz kitapta yer alan "Çin tarzı demokrasi" söylemini üç ana eksende analiz etmeyi amaçlanmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

post-yapısalcılık , söylem analizi , demokrasi , beyaz kitap , Çin

Kaynakça

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