The Guanxi of Relational International Theory

The Guanxi of Relational International Theory

Author: Emilian Kavalski

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-03

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 1351613715

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This book offers a relational theory of International Relations (IR). To show the ways in which the relationality is foreshadowed in IR conversations it makes the following three points: 1) it recovers a mode of IR theorizing as itinerant translation; 2) it deploys the concept and practices of guanxi (employed here as a heuristic device revealing the infinite capacity of international interactions to create and construct multiple worlds) to uncover the outlines of a relational IR theorizing; and 3) it demonstrates that relational theorizing is at the core of projects for worlding IR. By engaging with the phenomenon of relationality, Emilian Kavalski invokes the complexity of possible worlds and demonstrates new possibilities for powerful ethical-political innovations in IR theorizing. Thus, relational IR theorizing emerges as an optic which both acknowledges the agency of ‘others’ in the context of myriad interpretative intersections of people, powers, and environments (as well as their complex histories, cultures, and agency) and stimulates awareness of the dynamically-intertwined contingencies through which meanings are generated contingently through interactions in communities of practice. The book will have a strong appeal to the broad academic readership in Asian Studies, Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations theory and students and scholars of non-/post-Western International Relations and non-/post-Western Political Thought.


Book Synopsis The Guanxi of Relational International Theory by : Emilian Kavalski

Download or read book The Guanxi of Relational International Theory written by Emilian Kavalski and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a relational theory of International Relations (IR). To show the ways in which the relationality is foreshadowed in IR conversations it makes the following three points: 1) it recovers a mode of IR theorizing as itinerant translation; 2) it deploys the concept and practices of guanxi (employed here as a heuristic device revealing the infinite capacity of international interactions to create and construct multiple worlds) to uncover the outlines of a relational IR theorizing; and 3) it demonstrates that relational theorizing is at the core of projects for worlding IR. By engaging with the phenomenon of relationality, Emilian Kavalski invokes the complexity of possible worlds and demonstrates new possibilities for powerful ethical-political innovations in IR theorizing. Thus, relational IR theorizing emerges as an optic which both acknowledges the agency of ‘others’ in the context of myriad interpretative intersections of people, powers, and environments (as well as their complex histories, cultures, and agency) and stimulates awareness of the dynamically-intertwined contingencies through which meanings are generated contingently through interactions in communities of practice. The book will have a strong appeal to the broad academic readership in Asian Studies, Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations theory and students and scholars of non-/post-Western International Relations and non-/post-Western Political Thought.

A Relational Theory of World Politics

A Relational Theory of World Politics

Author: Yaqing Qin

Publisher:

Published: 2018-04-05

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1107183146

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A reinterpretation of world politics drawing on Chinese cultural and philosophical traditions to argue for a focus on relations amongst actors, rather than on the actors individually.


Book Synopsis A Relational Theory of World Politics by : Yaqing Qin

Download or read book A Relational Theory of World Politics written by Yaqing Qin and published by . This book was released on 2018-04-05 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reinterpretation of world politics drawing on Chinese cultural and philosophical traditions to argue for a focus on relations amongst actors, rather than on the actors individually.

Guanxi, How China Works

Guanxi, How China Works

Author: Yanjie Bian

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-03-04

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1509500421

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How do social relations, or guanxi, matter in China today and how can this distinctive form of personal connection be better understood? In Guanxi: How China Works, Yanjie Bian analyzes the forms, dynamics, and impacts of guanxi relations in reform-era China, and shows them to be a crucial part of the puzzle of how Chinese society operates. Rich in original studies and insightful analyses, this concise book offers a critical synthesis of guanxi research, including its empirical controversies and theoretical debates. Bian skillfully illustrates the growing importance of guanxi in diverse areas such as personal network building, employment and labor markets, informal business relationships, and the broader political sphere, highlighting guanxi’s central value in China's contemporary social structure. A definitive statement on the topic from a top authority on the sociology of guanxi, this book is an excellent classroom introduction for courses on China, a useful reference for guanxi researchers, and ideal reading for anyone interested in Chinese culture and society.


Book Synopsis Guanxi, How China Works by : Yanjie Bian

Download or read book Guanxi, How China Works written by Yanjie Bian and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-03-04 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do social relations, or guanxi, matter in China today and how can this distinctive form of personal connection be better understood? In Guanxi: How China Works, Yanjie Bian analyzes the forms, dynamics, and impacts of guanxi relations in reform-era China, and shows them to be a crucial part of the puzzle of how Chinese society operates. Rich in original studies and insightful analyses, this concise book offers a critical synthesis of guanxi research, including its empirical controversies and theoretical debates. Bian skillfully illustrates the growing importance of guanxi in diverse areas such as personal network building, employment and labor markets, informal business relationships, and the broader political sphere, highlighting guanxi’s central value in China's contemporary social structure. A definitive statement on the topic from a top authority on the sociology of guanxi, this book is an excellent classroom introduction for courses on China, a useful reference for guanxi researchers, and ideal reading for anyone interested in Chinese culture and society.

China and International Theory

China and International Theory

Author: Chih-yu Shih et al.

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-03-27

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0429751060

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Major IR theories, which stress that actors will inevitably only seek to enhance their own interests, tend to contrive binaries of self and other and ‘inside’ and ‘outside’. By contrast, this book recognizes the general need of all to relate, which they do through various imagined resemblances between them. The authors of this book therefore propose the ‘balance of relationships’ (BoR) as a new international relations theory to transcend binary ways of thinking. BoR theory differs from mainstream IR theories owing to two key differences in its epistemological position. Firstly, the theory explains why and how states as socially-interrelated actors inescapably pursue a strategy of self-restraint in order to join a network of stable and long-term relationships. Secondly, owing to its focus on explaining bilateral relations, BoR theory bypasses rule-based governance. By positing ‘relationality’ as a key concept of Chinese international relations, this book shows that BoR can also serve as an important concept in the theorization of international relations, more broadly. The rising interest in developing a Chinese school of IR means the BoR theory will draw attention from students of IR theory, comparative foreign policy, Chinese foreign policy, East Asia, cultural studies, post-Western IR, post-colonial studies and civilizational politics.


Book Synopsis China and International Theory by : Chih-yu Shih et al.

Download or read book China and International Theory written by Chih-yu Shih et al. and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-27 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Major IR theories, which stress that actors will inevitably only seek to enhance their own interests, tend to contrive binaries of self and other and ‘inside’ and ‘outside’. By contrast, this book recognizes the general need of all to relate, which they do through various imagined resemblances between them. The authors of this book therefore propose the ‘balance of relationships’ (BoR) as a new international relations theory to transcend binary ways of thinking. BoR theory differs from mainstream IR theories owing to two key differences in its epistemological position. Firstly, the theory explains why and how states as socially-interrelated actors inescapably pursue a strategy of self-restraint in order to join a network of stable and long-term relationships. Secondly, owing to its focus on explaining bilateral relations, BoR theory bypasses rule-based governance. By positing ‘relationality’ as a key concept of Chinese international relations, this book shows that BoR can also serve as an important concept in the theorization of international relations, more broadly. The rising interest in developing a Chinese school of IR means the BoR theory will draw attention from students of IR theory, comparative foreign policy, Chinese foreign policy, East Asia, cultural studies, post-Western IR, post-colonial studies and civilizational politics.

China and International Theory

China and International Theory

Author: Zhiyu Shi

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781138390508

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Major IR theories, which stress that actors will inevitably only seek to enhance their own interests, tend to contrive binaries of self and other and 'inside' and 'outside'. By contrast, this book recognizes the general need of all to relate, which they do through various imagined resemblances between them. The authors of this book therefore propose the 'balance of relationships' (BoR) as a new international relations theory to transcend binary ways of thinking. BoR theory differs from mainstream IR theories owing to two key differences in its epistemological position. Firstly, the theory explains why and how states as socially-interrelated actors inescapably pursue a strategy of self-restraint in order to join a network of stable and long-term relationships. Secondly, owing to its focus on explaining bilateral relations, BoR theory bypasses rule-based governance. By positing 'relationality' as a key concept of Chinese international relations, this book shows that BoR can also serve as an important concept in the theorization of international relations, more broadly. The rising interest in developing a Chinese school of IR means the BoR theory will draw attention from students of IR theory, comparative foreign policy, Chinese foreign policy, East Asia, cultural studies, post-Western IR, post-colonial studies and civilizational politics.


Book Synopsis China and International Theory by : Zhiyu Shi

Download or read book China and International Theory written by Zhiyu Shi and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Major IR theories, which stress that actors will inevitably only seek to enhance their own interests, tend to contrive binaries of self and other and 'inside' and 'outside'. By contrast, this book recognizes the general need of all to relate, which they do through various imagined resemblances between them. The authors of this book therefore propose the 'balance of relationships' (BoR) as a new international relations theory to transcend binary ways of thinking. BoR theory differs from mainstream IR theories owing to two key differences in its epistemological position. Firstly, the theory explains why and how states as socially-interrelated actors inescapably pursue a strategy of self-restraint in order to join a network of stable and long-term relationships. Secondly, owing to its focus on explaining bilateral relations, BoR theory bypasses rule-based governance. By positing 'relationality' as a key concept of Chinese international relations, this book shows that BoR can also serve as an important concept in the theorization of international relations, more broadly. The rising interest in developing a Chinese school of IR means the BoR theory will draw attention from students of IR theory, comparative foreign policy, Chinese foreign policy, East Asia, cultural studies, post-Western IR, post-colonial studies and civilizational politics.

Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China

Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China

Author: Ji Ruan

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-01

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 3319407546

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This book focuses on the use of guanxi (Chinese personal connections) in everyday urban life: in particular, how and why people develop different types of social capital in their guanxi networks and the role of guanxi in school choice. Guanxi takes on a special significance in Chinese societies, and is widely-discussed and intensely-studied phenomenon today. In recent years in China, the phenomenon of parents using guanxi to acquire school places for their children has been frequently reported by the media, against the background of the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on corruption. From a sociological perspective, this book reveals how and why parents manage to do so. Ritual capital refers to an individual's ability to use ritual to benefit and gain resources from guanxi.


Book Synopsis Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China by : Ji Ruan

Download or read book Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China written by Ji Ruan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the use of guanxi (Chinese personal connections) in everyday urban life: in particular, how and why people develop different types of social capital in their guanxi networks and the role of guanxi in school choice. Guanxi takes on a special significance in Chinese societies, and is widely-discussed and intensely-studied phenomenon today. In recent years in China, the phenomenon of parents using guanxi to acquire school places for their children has been frequently reported by the media, against the background of the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on corruption. From a sociological perspective, this book reveals how and why parents manage to do so. Ritual capital refers to an individual's ability to use ritual to benefit and gain resources from guanxi.

Producing Guanxi

Producing Guanxi

Author: Andrew B. Kipnis

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9780822318736

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Throughout China the formation of guanxi, or social connections, involves friends, families, colleagues, and acquaintances in complex networks of social support and sentimental attachment. Focusing on this process in one rural north China village, Fengjia, Andrew Kipnis shows what guanxi production reveals about the evolution of village political economy, kinship and gender, and local patterns of subjectivity in Dengist China. His work offers a detailed description of the communicative actions--such as gift giving, being a host or guest, participating in weddings or funerals--that produce, manage, and deny guanxi in a specific time and place. Kipnis also offers a rare comparative analysis of how these practices relate to the varied and variable phenomenon of guanxi throughout China and as it has changed over time. Producing Guanxi combines the theory of Pierre Bourdieu and the insights of symbolic anthropology to contest past portrayals of guanxi as either a function of Chinese political economics or an unchanging Confucian social structure. In this analysis guanxi emerges as a purposeful human effort that makes use of past cultural logics while generating new ones. By exploring the role of sentiment in the creation of self, Kipnis critiques recent theories of subjectivity for their narrow focus on language and discourse, and contributes to the anthropological discussion of comparative selfhood. Navigating a path between mainstream social science and abstract social theory, Kipnis presents a more nuanced examination of guanxi than has previously been available and contributes generally to our understanding of relationships and human action.


Book Synopsis Producing Guanxi by : Andrew B. Kipnis

Download or read book Producing Guanxi written by Andrew B. Kipnis and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout China the formation of guanxi, or social connections, involves friends, families, colleagues, and acquaintances in complex networks of social support and sentimental attachment. Focusing on this process in one rural north China village, Fengjia, Andrew Kipnis shows what guanxi production reveals about the evolution of village political economy, kinship and gender, and local patterns of subjectivity in Dengist China. His work offers a detailed description of the communicative actions--such as gift giving, being a host or guest, participating in weddings or funerals--that produce, manage, and deny guanxi in a specific time and place. Kipnis also offers a rare comparative analysis of how these practices relate to the varied and variable phenomenon of guanxi throughout China and as it has changed over time. Producing Guanxi combines the theory of Pierre Bourdieu and the insights of symbolic anthropology to contest past portrayals of guanxi as either a function of Chinese political economics or an unchanging Confucian social structure. In this analysis guanxi emerges as a purposeful human effort that makes use of past cultural logics while generating new ones. By exploring the role of sentiment in the creation of self, Kipnis critiques recent theories of subjectivity for their narrow focus on language and discourse, and contributes to the anthropological discussion of comparative selfhood. Navigating a path between mainstream social science and abstract social theory, Kipnis presents a more nuanced examination of guanxi than has previously been available and contributes generally to our understanding of relationships and human action.

China’s Rise and Rethinking International Relations Theory

China’s Rise and Rethinking International Relations Theory

Author: Pan, Chengxin

Publisher: Policy Press

Published: 2022-02-16

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1529212952

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Bringing together leading scholars from Asia and the West, this book investigates how the dynamics of China’s rise in world politics contributes to theory-building in International Relations (IR). The book demonstrates how the complex and transformative nature of China’s advancement is also a point of departure for theoretical innovation and reflection in IR more broadly. In doing so, the volume builds a strong case for a genuinely global and post-Western IR. It contends that ‘non-Western’ countries should not only be considered potential sources of knowledge production, but also original and legitimate focuses of IR theorizing in their own right.


Book Synopsis China’s Rise and Rethinking International Relations Theory by : Pan, Chengxin

Download or read book China’s Rise and Rethinking International Relations Theory written by Pan, Chengxin and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2022-02-16 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together leading scholars from Asia and the West, this book investigates how the dynamics of China’s rise in world politics contributes to theory-building in International Relations (IR). The book demonstrates how the complex and transformative nature of China’s advancement is also a point of departure for theoretical innovation and reflection in IR more broadly. In doing so, the volume builds a strong case for a genuinely global and post-Western IR. It contends that ‘non-Western’ countries should not only be considered potential sources of knowledge production, but also original and legitimate focuses of IR theorizing in their own right.

Friendship and International Relations

Friendship and International Relations

Author: S. Koschut

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-10-01

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 1137396342

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International friendship is a distinct type of interstate relationship, and that as such, it can contribute to capture aspects of international politics that have long remained unattended. This book offers a framework for analyzing friendship in international politics by presenting a variety of conceptual approaches and empirical cases.


Book Synopsis Friendship and International Relations by : S. Koschut

Download or read book Friendship and International Relations written by S. Koschut and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-01 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International friendship is a distinct type of interstate relationship, and that as such, it can contribute to capture aspects of international politics that have long remained unattended. This book offers a framework for analyzing friendship in international politics by presenting a variety of conceptual approaches and empirical cases.

Shaping the Future of Power

Shaping the Future of Power

Author: Lina Benabdallah

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 0472054546

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"China's rise to power has become one of the most discussed questions in both International Relations Theory (IRT) and Foreign Policy circles. Although power has been a core concept of IRT for a long time, the faces and mechanisms of power as it relates to Chinese foreign policy making has reinvigorated and changed the contours of that debate. With the rise of China and other powers across the global political arena comes a new visibility for different kinds of encounters between states, particularly between China and other Global South states. These encounters are made more visible to IR scholars now because of the increasing influence and impact that rising powers are making in the international system. This book shows foreign policy encounters between rising powers and Global South states do not necessarily exhibit the same logics, behaviors, or investment strategies of Euro-American hegemons. Instead, they have distinctive features that require new theoretical frameworks for their analysis. Shaping the Future of Power probes the type of power mechanisms that build, diffuse, and project China's power in Africa. It is necessary to take into account the processes of knowledge production, social capital formation, and skills transfers in Chinese foreign policy toward African states to fully understand China's power building mechanisms. These elements are crucial for the relational power framework to capture both the material aspects and ideational people-centered aspects to power. By examining China's investments in human resource development programs for Africa, the book examines a vital, yet undertheorized, aspect of China's foreign policy making"--


Book Synopsis Shaping the Future of Power by : Lina Benabdallah

Download or read book Shaping the Future of Power written by Lina Benabdallah and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "China's rise to power has become one of the most discussed questions in both International Relations Theory (IRT) and Foreign Policy circles. Although power has been a core concept of IRT for a long time, the faces and mechanisms of power as it relates to Chinese foreign policy making has reinvigorated and changed the contours of that debate. With the rise of China and other powers across the global political arena comes a new visibility for different kinds of encounters between states, particularly between China and other Global South states. These encounters are made more visible to IR scholars now because of the increasing influence and impact that rising powers are making in the international system. This book shows foreign policy encounters between rising powers and Global South states do not necessarily exhibit the same logics, behaviors, or investment strategies of Euro-American hegemons. Instead, they have distinctive features that require new theoretical frameworks for their analysis. Shaping the Future of Power probes the type of power mechanisms that build, diffuse, and project China's power in Africa. It is necessary to take into account the processes of knowledge production, social capital formation, and skills transfers in Chinese foreign policy toward African states to fully understand China's power building mechanisms. These elements are crucial for the relational power framework to capture both the material aspects and ideational people-centered aspects to power. By examining China's investments in human resource development programs for Africa, the book examines a vital, yet undertheorized, aspect of China's foreign policy making"--