Rise of China and Chinese International Relations Scholarship

Hung-jen Wang received his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Tübingen, Germany. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg/Centre for Global Cooperation Research at theUniversity of Duisburg-Essen, Germany (2012-2013). The author’s research interests include international relations (IR) theory, international security, Chinese foreign policy, cross-Strait relations, and Taiwanese democratization.

• Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Being Uniquely Universal: Creating Chinese International Relations TheoryChapter 3: From “Chinese Characteristics” to a Chinese IR School: Four Stages of Identity MakingChapter 4: Representing China’s Rise in Analyses of Sino-American RelationsChapter 5: Representing China’s Rise in Analyses of Sino-Japanese RelationsChapter 6: Representing China’s Rise in Analyses of Sino-Southeast RelationsChapter 7: Making Sense of China’s Rise in the Context of Cross-Taiwan Strait RelationsChapter 8: Conclusion: Chinese IR Scholarship, Knowledge Production, Interpretations and Choices

Hung-Jen Wang’s book . . . aims to inform readers about the views of Chinese IR scholars. . . .Wang’s core argument is that the production of IR knowledge in China is the result of a dynamic interaction between Chinese scholars and their subject, China. . . .Three operative concepts are at work here. First is identity, in which Wang makes the argument that Chinese IR scholarship has to be understood in view of the Chinese historical, cultural, and political contexts. . . .Second is appropriation. Chinese scholars freely make use of Western theories and concepts when these theories and concepts serve the policy recommendations they are making. . . .Third is adaptation, in which Chinese scholars, by borrowing Western theories, also make important efforts to tailor and modify these theories to fit China’s needs and conditions. In the process, these Western theories and concepts, which aspire to universal application, are relativized in the Chinese context. . . .This book has the merit of being the first book to review, discuss, and categorize a large number of Chinese IR writings. The data collected by the author are impressive.