The ever-growing Chinese economy and military have been viewed with suspicion by Western academics. One of the main questions that rises from China’s increasing power is how and if it will change...Show moreThe ever-growing Chinese economy and military have been viewed with suspicion by Western academics. One of the main questions that rises from China’s increasing power is how and if it will change the world order. When Xi Jinping became president of the People’s Republic in 2013, a new era began. Xi incorporates many historical narratives in his speeches to explain his views on the international system. This paper inquires the fifteen speeches of Xi Jinping, held between 2012 and 2020. The theoretical framework for this research is Zhao Tingyang’s neo-tianxa. The methodology that has been used is the macro critical political discourse analysis. The systematic application on Xi Jinping’s speeches revealed that the Chinese concept of neo-tianxia gives interesting insights in how Xi Jinping sees the world. Furthermore, this thesis goes beyond the East-West thinking that often can be found in the Western IR field.Show less
The question is where China's international human rights participation will lead to. Will it lead to the improvement of the international human rights system? Will it lead to the erosion of the...Show moreThe question is where China's international human rights participation will lead to. Will it lead to the improvement of the international human rights system? Will it lead to the erosion of the system? Or will it have little effect and sustain the system? This paper will discuss whether China’s participation within the UN has led to the erosion of the international human rights system since the Xi Jinping administration. In order to keep this a feasible topic to discuss within this paper, the focus will be on two human rights related bodies in the UN: the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). In addition, the research will be centred around the Xi Jinping administration, as an increase of China’s international involvement can be observed during his administration. Furthermore, the concept of the international human rights system will be based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the UN. The focus points of this paper will therefore be the Xi Jinping administration, China’s participation within the UN, and the erosion of the UDHR.Show less
This research analyses three speeches by President Xi Jinping to examine the narrative he creates around the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The outcome of the study is twofold. Firstly, the...Show moreThis research analyses three speeches by President Xi Jinping to examine the narrative he creates around the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The outcome of the study is twofold. Firstly, the findings suggest that the Chinese government creates a narrative of continuity in China’s foreign policy by appealing to China’s soft power, including Chinese history and cultural values. Second, the speeches form an invitation to the world to adhere to China’s principles and follow its path of development.Show less
This thesis focusses on the question: How has the Chinese propaganda department propagated stories in and outside of China through its new-type mainstream media since the 18th CCP Congress in 2012?...Show moreThis thesis focusses on the question: How has the Chinese propaganda department propagated stories in and outside of China through its new-type mainstream media since the 18th CCP Congress in 2012? The CPD endeavours to send a coherent message to different audiences in order to enhance China’s international image by applying a new media-management strategy that aims at telling better stories to the world about China. This thesis endeavours to identify the rationales of the CPD through an analysis of its structure and the aims of the new media-management strategy. As a case study, eight video clips will be analysed, interpreted and discussed alongside the academic research in order to draw conclusions. On the basis of the video clip analyses, the conclusion is that the CPD tells four different narratives at this moment: the Chinese Dream and rejuvenation discourse; the Belt and Road Initiative; China’s desire to pursue diversity and inclusivity for all in the international system; and using Xi Jinping as a popular idol. Moreover, this thesis shows that the clips fit in the longer tradition of Chinese political communication in the form of visual tifa.Show less
This thesis analyses newspaper articles from two state-led newspapers of the PRC regarding the phone-call between the president of the US, Donald Trump, and president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, on...Show moreThis thesis analyses newspaper articles from two state-led newspapers of the PRC regarding the phone-call between the president of the US, Donald Trump, and president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, on December 2, 2016. This phone call suggested a possible attempt by the US to undermine the One-China policy, an essential part of China’s international relations. This thesis links the outcomes of the discourse analysis with the literature review, which explains the importance of discourse in international relations and the construction of a national identity. The analysis mainly focuses on three discourse topics and discursive strategies (intertextuality, language and pictures) of the newspaper articles. Both parts concentrate on the different identity manoeuvres which construct a notion of China’s national identity. Analysing the different articles showed that this phone call was an unexpected and an unacceptable event for the PRC. The discourse regarding China’s military power occurs quite strong in the period after the phone call. With regard to the construction of national identity, concluded is that the newspaper articles construct an identity of China which is ‘unassailable’ for any changes from external actors in Sino-U.S. or cross-strait relations. The position of Taiwan in China’s identity is constructed in a conflicting way by the articles. Language features often identify Taiwan as the ‘other’, which excludes Taiwan from China’s identity. However, when speaking about Sino-U.S. relations, Taiwan is included in China’s identity.Show less
China’s rise came with relatively modest objectives compared to their weight; they have not been trying to rule the Asia-Pacific let alone the world. Recently, however, Beijing has started to more...Show moreChina’s rise came with relatively modest objectives compared to their weight; they have not been trying to rule the Asia-Pacific let alone the world. Recently, however, Beijing has started to more pro-actively claim their space in the international community, best exemplified by their establishment of the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2013. This multilateral development bank is part of China’s “great power diplomacy“ efforts launched by Xi Jinping, a bank of which the ideological and political motivations remain unclear and are speculated upon among media and within academic circles. Hence this paper’s focus on the question “why did China establish the AIIB and what motivations have informed its creation?”. Using the Neo-Gramscian critical theory of hegemony for international relations, this paper focuses on ideas and ideological narratives that could have potentially informed the motivations behind the creation of the AIIB. The paper is a response to the predominantly realist and liberal institutionalist literature on China’s rise, and aims to go beyond the self-affirming nature of state-centric analysis. The literature review is structured around three central topics: China’s rise and internationalization, its engagement with institutions and multilateralism, and the establishment of the AIIB. Following the literature review, the case study investigates a possible interrelation between China’s historical political traditions, Xi’s recent ambitions in global governance, and the motivations behind the creation of the AIIB. The paper argues that the creation of the AIIB is informed by a number of motivations that are beyond its official narrative, namely that the bank 1) redistributes the industrial overcapacity of China’s core industries; 2) helps maintain economic growth by opening up new markets, or as an 3) alternative institution in response to a failing global governance system. Most importantly, 4) the AIIB is argued to potentially function as a transnational mechanism to extend China’s domestic social relations in the form of ideas, norms, and values on a diplomatic, economic, and cultural level through project engagement in member states. The AIIB’s motivations are therefore not merely informed by economic or institutional motives, but also by socially informed ideological debates that find their basis on all levels of Chinese society.Show less
Although it appears that mainstream history has second ranked Central Eurasia, throughout most of history, the region has been at the forefront of world politics. Successively called Sogdiana by...Show moreAlthough it appears that mainstream history has second ranked Central Eurasia, throughout most of history, the region has been at the forefront of world politics. Successively called Sogdiana by the Arabs, Transoxiana by westerners or Turkestan, literally ‘land of the Turks’ by the Persians; the region has come to our minds as Central Asia. Until the Age of Discoveries, Central Asia constituted the nervous system of the Eurasian international system (Frankopan 2015). Historically, whoever dominated trade along Central Asia dominated the Eurasian landmass. Trade took place primarily between China and Europe while Central Asia acted as the middle man. As such, the native nomadic tribes pacified the region in order to foster trade. Intensive exchanges in goods, peoples and ideas were the hallmark of the Eurasian economy in which continental trade dominated. Land and see routes where integrated into a single international system in which Central Asia was located at the center while the rest of the world constituted the periphery (Beckwith 2009). In 1877, the distinguished German geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen coined the Eurasian economic system as the ‘Seidenstraße’: the Silk Route. Nevertheless, Central Asia’s golden era did not last. With the maritime expeditions of Columbus and Vasco de Gama the ‘Eurasian continental system’ began to unravel. The revolutionary discoveries of alternative sea routes led to the establishment of new trade lanes (Frankopan 2015). As Beckwith explains in his book Empires of the Silk Road, the final blow to the continental system was struck by the partitioning of Central Eurasia by the Russian and Chinese empires. Newly erected borders led to soaring tariffs and increasing insecurity causing trade to spiral downward. Economic disintegration brought about intellectual decay which further isolated the region (Starr et al 2015). As a result, trade along sea lanes became much more competitive. The fundamental shift in trade patterns ushered the ‘Littoral system’ characterized by mass maritime trade (Beckwith 2009). Consequently, the center of gravity shifted from Central Asia to the coastal peripheries who dominated the sea lanes. Mastering state of the art naval technology, European countries such as Britain became the primary beneficiaries of the new ‘Littoral system’. The maritime system endured with the creation of the canal of Suez and the establishment of the Soviet Union which redirected the ancient networks of the Silk Road to Moscow. For the next three centuries, the world witnessed the European Era followed by the American Era. However, the ‘Littoral system’ is not invulnerable. In his renowned article ‘The Geographical Pivot of History’, MacKinder outlines the threats facing the Littoral system; noteworthy, a reunified Eurasia. It seems that the tide is turning once more. In 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated in what President Putin called “the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century". The momentous event enabled Central Asian people to regain their independence. Almost immediately, the European Union and Eastern European countries launched a bold trade and transportation project named the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) with the aim of restoring the “Historical Silk Road” (Starr et al 2015). Inaugurated in great pomp, the weakly executed project met with little success (Matveeva 2006). Then, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the United States intervened in Afghanistan in order to gain a foothold in the Central Asian area (Genté Régis 2014). In 2010, recognizing Afghanistan’s historical importance, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instigated the News Silk Road initiative aimed at establishing Afghanistan as a key trade hub (Hormats 2011). Nonetheless, the project failed to receive the vital endorsement of the U.S. President and soon thereafter fell apart (Starr et al, 2015). Three years later, China’s supreme leader, President Xi Jinping, made an ambitious proposal for the revival of the Silk Road. Could Xi’s momentous plans succeed in revitalizing the Eurasian system?Show less
In this thesis, I discuss about the existence of an art theory in current Chinese policies to answer the main research question: what is Xi’s art theory and how does the Communist Chinese Party ...Show moreIn this thesis, I discuss about the existence of an art theory in current Chinese policies to answer the main research question: what is Xi’s art theory and how does the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) conceive of arts and literature (wenyi文艺)? Since arts and literature have been called upon to support and accelerate the achievement of the country’s goals, I will analyze the current Chinese situation from the perspective of art. Moreover, I will suggest that the formulation of an art theory by Xi, during the Beijing Forum on Literature and Art in 2014 , might be referring to the past to stress the element of continuity as legitimacy for the CCP’s rule and relevance.Show less
