Conference Program

The rapid rise of China has triggered concerns about the liberal international order. Some Western scholars regard China as a "revisionist country" intent on challenging the existing international order. In fact, China actively advocates an “international order based on international law.” At the same time, some countries advocate a "rules-based international order." However, these countries have not made clear what kind of rules a "rules-based international order" is. On the contrary, it contains many unequal and undemocratic factors. All in all, China’s current multilateralism proposition is shaped by China’s historical experience, cultural traditions and practical policy considerations. On the one hand, China’s attitude complements and improves the current international order. On the other hand, it also reflects China’s strategic positioning of not seeking world hegemony.

This study analyzes how China positions itself in the international order, drawing on the constructivist perspective that actors' roles and behaviors depend on their position in the world hierarchy (Mattern & Zarakol 2016). Positionality is seen as intrinsically related to non-material structures such as identities, perceptions, norms, and values. The study focuses on two dimensions of positionality: subjective, related to actors’ identities, and inter-subjective, related to the recognition of states’ positions by others. From this perspective, the struggle for power in international relations can be viewed as a struggle for values, where "values givers" hold higher hierarchical positions (Kayaoglu, 2010). Prevailing discourses in postcolonial international relations support Western exceptionalism, equating progress with Western values like human rights and democracy. This dynamic means that observance of specific values, such as women's rights, can serve as a standard for a country's rank in international society (Towns, 2010). Criticism of China for human rights violations reflects this struggle, with the EU and the US reinforcing their dominant discourses, while Chinese narratives about "Asian values" aim to challenge these discourses.

The study examines China’s self-representation in its narratives on the war in Ukraine. Although China does not directly participate in the conflict, its commentary is part of a broader effort to position itself on the world stage. The analysis identifies the roles and hierarchies China promotes for various global players in the context of Ukraine. This study employs AI-powered Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automatically extract key insights from Chinese accounts.

Following the perceived rise of China as a global power, research on China’s foreign relations has been dominated by the question of whether the PRC will act as an disruptor or as a responsible great power that abides by international norms and standards. While China’s economic and infrastructure investments have been welcomed by many in sub-Saharan Africa, its engagement has been marked by a number of differences with Western norms and approaches, which has led to a contested narrative around its activities on the continent. For many years, the basic principles and direction of China’s Africa policy seemed clear. Although shrouded in secrecy and policy opacity, the norms, objectives, and trends of China’s engagement on the continent were agreed upon by most scholars of the subject. Many of these apparent certainties have recently been called into question, however. This paper specifically focuses on recent developments in China's security-related policies, strategies, and activities in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights areas such as military cooperation, diplomatic interventions, contributions to regional peace operations, and other forms of military and security assistance. It analyzes these developments using examples from Tanzania, Ethiopia, and the African Union, incorporating interviews with policymakers and experts, and a review of policy documents and media. The paper aims to provide a better understanding of how and why China is becoming an increasingly important actor in Africa’s evolving security environment and how China’s new security policies are shaping its engagement.

Globalization has become the method that best characterizes the LIO, both through the free movement of capital and values associated with liberal democracy, based on the defense of human rights. This process can also be known as modernity, enhanced by the ideas arising from the French and American revolutions, however, far from being a linear process, the countries of the Global South have opted for different ways of interpreting the integration process within the LIO. The particular case of China is precisely interesting for this study due to its way of adopting important economic reforms that brought them closer to the West in the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping, however, with the arrival of Xi Jingping this rapprochement has not only cooled down, but China's position has emerged more as a rival to the LIO. This paper will focus on elaborating on the relevant role of Sinocentrism in the Chinese political tradition that has historically pushed them to rival the West: the idea of how today it manifests itself in the position the country adopts to project its influence globally, employing more confrontational and assertive diplomacy, as can be seen in intercontinental investments in infrastructure and technology; and their notirious criticism of human rights violations as a new form of colonization.