Leiden University Student Repository

Petersen, Karl-Johan Brøns (2020)

Pluralism as a Chinese Roadmap to Hegemony

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

The thesis examines the Chinese concept of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind (CSFM) and how it fits into the Gramscian theory of international hegemony both theoretically and practically. To do this, the thesis examines various theories of hegemony and finds them to rely on universalism, the production of consent, and homogeneity. This runs contrary to the pluralistic CSFM. Theoretically, the two concepts do not match. The practical side relies on the examination of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) documents and the Beijing Declaration from the First South-South Human Rights Forum. The thesis here finds that these two are linked to CSFM. However, due to the theoretical issues in CSFM, such as pluralism and the lack of an ability to absorb counter-hegemonic ideas, CSFM fails as a challenger for world hegemony and to the Gramscian approach to hegemony. It might instead be better suited as a regional hegemonic idea due to a shared common sense in the East Asia region.

Chinese Hegemony

A Community of Shared Future for Mankind

Pluralism

Universalism

Antonio Gramsci

Robert W. Cox

Belt and Road Initiative

Author

Petersen, Karl-Johan Brøns

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

d'Hooghe, I.M.A.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en