CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Li, Shiyu |
|---|---|
| Title | Normative Power and the Role of China in the Western Balkans: The case of Serbia |
| Summary | Abstract This thesis adopts a normative power approach to analyze China’s role in the Western Balkans. It attempts to redress the long-standing debate about whether China is a threat or not in engaging the Western Balkans. I will argue that China's purpose in constructing its normative power is to struggle for other countries' recognition of its key practices in external relations and ensure the domestic legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. History factors shape China's current foreign policy thinking, and these factors have been transformed into current forms. Therefore, China has to struggle for other countries' recognition of its political and economic models, human rights narratives, and the One-China and non-interference principles. All in all, China concerns its domestic sustainable economic growth, sovereignty issues related to national reunification, and nationalism, instead of rebuilding the international order or even seeking hegemony. The extent to which the Western Balkan countries accept these three norms determines whether China could be considered a normative power in the Western Balkans. Wendt's approach contributes to understanding China's participation in the Western Balkans in terms of sovereign practice, cooperation, and (internal and external) legitimacy. After China successfully internalized its sovereignty, China became more respectful of other's territorial rights. At the same time, China recognizes that its sovereignty depends on the recognition of others. Moreover, both internal and external legitimacy has to struggle for recognition. The Communist Party of China needs to maintain sustained economic growth and territorial sovereignty and oppose external interference in Chinese affairs in order to legitimize its one-party rule. Externally, China has put forward the slogans like 'peace and development' and 'The community with a shared future for all mankind' to build China's external legitimacy. |
| Supervisor | Daniel Izsak |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/li_shiyu.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University