Member of:
Global Forum for Chinese Political Scientists
Book Review, by Quansheng Zhao
International Relations of Asia-Pacific, vol. 4 (2004), pp. 202-204
Construction in Contradiction: A Multiple-insight into Relationship between China and Key International Organizations
Wang Yizhou (ed.)
Beijing: Development Press, 2003, 358 pp.
This is the first book in Chinese – following in the footsteps of a number of important studies by Western scholars – that deals extensively with China’s relationship with international organizations. It represents the latest achievement of Chinese scholars in the field of international relations from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. With support from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Ford Foundation, this project started in 2000 and produced this book and a number of noteworthy journal articles.
The book is divided into eleven parts. It begins with an excellent overview by the book’s editor, Wang Yizhou. This introductory chapter not only discusses the current status of studies on relations between China and the key international organizations but also provides a personal assessment on key issues in this subject. The introduction is followed by nine finely structured chapters providing detailed studies on specific cases. Li Shaojun analyzes Chinese policy towards international nuclear non-proliferation regimes. Tang Yongsheng analyzes UN peace-keeping organizations. Li Dongyan provides an excellent analysis on Chinese perspectives on the reforms of the UN Security Council. Shen Jiro focuses his study on China’s interaction with APEC, emphasizing how this relationship provides good examples of mutual adjustment and mutual adaptation. Song Hong conducts a similar study concentrating on Chinese relations with WTO. Mo Jihong deals with China’s relations with UN human rights conventions. Chen Ying’s case study is on China’s strategy toward environmental problems, focusing on climate issues. The last two chapters provide valuable background discussions on Chinese cultural and traditional thinking. Zhang Lidong and Pan Yihe discuss Chinese traditional thinking on international relations, going back to ancient times; whereas Yu Xiaofeng’s analysis is from cultural and ethical perspectives. The book concludes with a discussion by Alastair Iain Johnston, which provides a Western perspective.
There are four strengths in this book. First, the authors are indeed very familiar with the internal thinking of the policymaking communities in China, and thereby provide valuable insights via both basic arguments and detailed empirical data. Secondly, as an interdisciplinary study, these authors provide excellent analyses from multiple angles and multiple perspectives, such as international relations, political science, law, culture and environmental economics. Third, the basic aim of this book is to incorporate recent theoretical development in the field. The most emphasized approach is constructivism together with other schools of thoughts such as realism and interdependency theory. Fourth, based on theoretical guidance, several authors bring in their own assessment on a variety of policy issues, making provocative and down-to-earth comments. Noteable examples are Wang Yizhou’s introductory chapter, and Song Hong on WTO. Zhang Lidong and Pan Yihe have applied their study on Chinese traditional thinking to current developments in terms of the kinds of difficulties China may face in its policy towards international organizations.
Some points need to be mentioned for future improvement. It would be better if the book had an overall bibliography in the end in addition to the footnotes listed with each chapter. This would provide the reader with a comprehensive picture of what reference materials the book has used. While a number of chapters provide excellent empirical data, some of them (the chapter on culture, for example) need additional empirical case studies to illuminate their arguments. It was a good idea to invite a well-known Western scholar to join the team. But every effort should be made to include a scholar’s best available article so that it can truly reflect the level of that scholar’s contribution to the field.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Wang Yizhou for his leadership role in such an excellent research project and to all contributors for their scholarly achievement. It has clearly demonstrated a major step forward in the study of international relations in China. I have every reason to believe that with collective efforts of talented scholars such as the authors of this book, the IR field in China will soon move to an unprecedented level, corresponding to the rising status of China in the world community in the 21st century.
Quansheng Zhao
Division of Comparative & Regional Studies
School of International Service, American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016–8071, USA
qujzhao@american.edu
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