12 The Weight of History: Competing Narratives in the Context of a Rising China
-
Bart Dessein
Abstract
China is no longer merely a global economic competitor to incumbent powers; it is also perceived to portray itself increasingly as a norm/system setter rather than as a norm/system taker. China’s emerging narratives of the global system have challenged the universalistic post-Cold War narratives of the West. In the West, one response has been the creation of a narrative that the world is developing towards a new bipolar order, similar to the period of the Cold War. The call for economic derisking (or decoupling) from China that is the direct result of its race for technological (and potentially military) leadership over the Western world can be seen as an important outcome of this narrative. At the same time, China is promoting its narrative of a ‘Shared Future for Mankind’. Instead of a competition between two mutually exclusive narratives, the chapter proposes a more flexible and diversified ‘modular home’ approach in which both may exist, made possible by China’s compartmentalizing its foreign policy.
Abstract
China is no longer merely a global economic competitor to incumbent powers; it is also perceived to portray itself increasingly as a norm/system setter rather than as a norm/system taker. China’s emerging narratives of the global system have challenged the universalistic post-Cold War narratives of the West. In the West, one response has been the creation of a narrative that the world is developing towards a new bipolar order, similar to the period of the Cold War. The call for economic derisking (or decoupling) from China that is the direct result of its race for technological (and potentially military) leadership over the Western world can be seen as an important outcome of this narrative. At the same time, China is promoting its narrative of a ‘Shared Future for Mankind’. Instead of a competition between two mutually exclusive narratives, the chapter proposes a more flexible and diversified ‘modular home’ approach in which both may exist, made possible by China’s compartmentalizing its foreign policy.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures and Tables vii
- Notes on Contributors ix
- Preface xii
- Introduction: Narrative and Europe–China Relations 1
- The Return of Security: Shifting Perceptions of the State(craft) in UK–China Relations 17
- Clashing Narratives over Italy’s Adhesion to the Belt and Road Initiative: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach 36
- The ‘Iron Friendship’ and the ‘Long and Winding Road’: Narrating Sino-Serbian Relations on the Borders of the EU 57
- The Unicorn, the Dragon and the Storytellers: Comparing Praxes of Narrating China in EU Foreign Policy 75
- China, Europe and Dual Circulation: Emerging Narratives of China’s New Economic Model 93
- The Politics of Human Rights between China and the EU 113
- The Narratives of Counterterrorism and the Prospects of EU–China Security Cooperation 132
- The Role of Science and Technology in UK Narratives about China: The Case of Synthetic Biology 154
- From Academic Partner to ‘Academic Threat’: German and UK Media Framing of European–Chinese Academic Cooperation since Xi Jinping Came to Power 173
- Exploring the Limits of Soft Power: Sentiments and Narratives on China in Turkish Social Media and Political Speeches of Elites 199
- Chosen Traumas: China’s Everlasting Century of Humiliation and Sino-European Relations 225
- The Weight of History: Competing Narratives in the Context of a Rising China 244
- Conclusion: Narratives and China–Europe Relations 264
- Index 273
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures and Tables vii
- Notes on Contributors ix
- Preface xii
- Introduction: Narrative and Europe–China Relations 1
- The Return of Security: Shifting Perceptions of the State(craft) in UK–China Relations 17
- Clashing Narratives over Italy’s Adhesion to the Belt and Road Initiative: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach 36
- The ‘Iron Friendship’ and the ‘Long and Winding Road’: Narrating Sino-Serbian Relations on the Borders of the EU 57
- The Unicorn, the Dragon and the Storytellers: Comparing Praxes of Narrating China in EU Foreign Policy 75
- China, Europe and Dual Circulation: Emerging Narratives of China’s New Economic Model 93
- The Politics of Human Rights between China and the EU 113
- The Narratives of Counterterrorism and the Prospects of EU–China Security Cooperation 132
- The Role of Science and Technology in UK Narratives about China: The Case of Synthetic Biology 154
- From Academic Partner to ‘Academic Threat’: German and UK Media Framing of European–Chinese Academic Cooperation since Xi Jinping Came to Power 173
- Exploring the Limits of Soft Power: Sentiments and Narratives on China in Turkish Social Media and Political Speeches of Elites 199
- Chosen Traumas: China’s Everlasting Century of Humiliation and Sino-European Relations 225
- The Weight of History: Competing Narratives in the Context of a Rising China 244
- Conclusion: Narratives and China–Europe Relations 264
- Index 273
