Absolved by the Telos of History: A Hermeneutic Approach to China’s Revolutionary (Non-)Interventionism

Authors

  • Yingxin (Angela) CHEN University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Keywords:

China, (non-)intervention, discourse

Abstract

This article confronts a puzzle regarding the People’s Republic of China’s foreign policy: during the Mao era, China adamantly upheld the principle of non-intervention/non-interference (buganshe), while at the same time actively engaged in national liberation movements in the Third World. Rather than treating it as a case of political hypocrisy, this article shows that the apparent inconsistency between China’s rhetoric and behaviour can be resolved with a post-structuralist perspective. Its analysis of Chinese official, dominant
discourses reveals that a moral-historical teleology is at play within the texts, which absolves China of moral responsibilities and presents its worldwide involvement as a legitimate exception. Furthermore, by presenting Chinese discourses on (non-)intervention as a potent instrument of resistance, this article seeks to decentre and remedy the Eurocentrism in the International Relations scholarship.

 

 

Author Biography

  • Yingxin (Angela) CHEN, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

    Yingxin (Angela) Chen is a J.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She holds an M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Chicago. She can be reached at <yingxinchen@berkeley.edu>

     

     

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Published

30-06-2022

Issue

International Journal of China Studies Vol.13 No.1 June 2022

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Absolved by the Telos of History: A Hermeneutic Approach to China’s Revolutionary (Non-)Interventionism. (2022). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHINA STUDIES, 31-62. https://mjir.um.edu.my/index.php/IJCS/article/view/61944