With China’s rise, many aspects of the liberal international order have been challenged. As China ardently defends its sovereignty, respect for international human rights norms and standards are an...Show moreWith China’s rise, many aspects of the liberal international order have been challenged. As China ardently defends its sovereignty, respect for international human rights norms and standards are an important facet of this. Therefore, incorporating China into the current global system remains a complex issue. Nevertheless, as a founder of the postwar international system, the United States maintains its position as a defender of universal human rights around the world. With the rise of President Xi Jinping in 2012, defending these rights became even more imperative. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this paper outlines and details President Obama and his administration’s attempts at shaping China’s behavior through the weaponization of human rights discourse. Weaponizing rights can transform them from altruistic ideals into ideological tools within geopolitics.Show less
Bilateral relations between the United States and China have increasingly soured since President Donald Trump assumed office in 2017. A key reason is that China’s growing power has made it a threat...Show moreBilateral relations between the United States and China have increasingly soured since President Donald Trump assumed office in 2017. A key reason is that China’s growing power has made it a threat to U.S. hegemony and the U.S. is more proactively seeking to contain China than ever before. While China’s threat can be examined from various theoretical angles, such as realism, few studies have looked at it from the perspective of the U.S. media. This is an important avenue for research as perceptions influence international relations and the media plays an important role in shaping such perceptions. Conversely, the media reflects tendencies in politics and society. Using content analysis, the portrayal of the China threat in the news coverage of the Wall Street Journal is examined between 2016 and 2018. The debate on the China threat has mostly consisted of three categories, namely military, economic, and political. The thesis adds a new category to be used in content analysis, namely world order.Show less
