Workshop scholars argue: Time for rethinking the ways we think about China's rise

The workshop, hosted by the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Gobalisation, in partnership with Deakin University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Institute for Social Justice, at Australian Catholic University and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, will be held at Deakin University Melbourne City Centre from March 31 to 1 April.

ADI researcher and workshop co-convenor Dr Chengxin Pan said the workshop would be followed by a public forum, hosted by Deakin University and La Trobe Asia looking at how China sees the world on Monday, April 4 at the State Library.

“It has been a coup attracting the funding to hold this workshop and bring a distinguished group of international researchers to Australia,” he said.

They include, for example, Emeritus Professor Barry Buzan from the London School of Economics, Professor Wang Jisi from Peking University, Professor John Agnew from UCLA, and Professor L.H.M. Ling from the New School in New York. Alongside the international visitors will be ADI’s own Professor Baogang He, the Australian National University’s Professor Evelyn Goh and the Australian Catholic University’s Associate Professor Emilian Kavalski.

Dr Pan said the workshop had arisen from a realisation that there was scope in the International Relations discipline for thinking about China differently.

“The rise of China has been a hot topic for a lot of International Relations scholars but many existing theories about rising powers tend to take a “state-centric” view in that they see each country as unitary players - China as China, Australia as Australia,” he explained.

“A growing number of scholars have sought to go beyond such approaches but the state-centric thinking remains influential and China is still seen in this way.”

Dr Pan said theories around power transition also needed to be thought of differently.

“This theory views China as the newly emerging power challenging US dominance,” he said.

“The new kid on the block is seen as a threat and so they tend to clash.

“Some people question this, but it remains a popular idea of how great powers interact and has in many ways shaped policy practices in the region.”

Dr Pan said there was also scope for other alternative theories to understand China, such as feminism and critical theory, even though this workshop cannot cover every theoretical perspective.

“China as a subject of study seems to be a stronghold for existing mainstream theories. When it comes to China, the old mentality and way of thinking tends to be convenient and ready made for people to use. It is now time for us to explore the possibility of theorising its rise from more diverse angles and approaches,” he said.

“The diversity in theoretical approaches is clearly evident in the workshop’s program, and I look forward to the insightful conversations among all participants on this important topic.”