Introduces a conceptual framework of ""international order"" categorized by three levels (power, rules, norms) and three issue-areas (security, political, economic). Each contributor examines two questions: Has China already challenged this dimension of international order? How will China challenge this dimension of international order in the future?

China’s Challenges and International Order Transition introduces an integrated conceptual framework of “international order” categorized by three levels (power, rules, and norms) and three issue-areas (security, political, and economic). Each contributor engages one or more of these analytical dimensions to examine two questions: (1) Has China already challenged this dimension of international order? (2) How will China challenge this dimension of international order in the future?

The contested views and perspectives in this volume suggest it is too simple to assume an inevitable conflict between China and the outside world. With different strategies to challenge or reform the many dimensions of international order, China’s role is not a one-way street. It is an interactive process in which the world may change China as much as China may change the world.

The aim of the book is to broaden the debate beyond the “Thucydides Trap” perspective currently popular in the West. Rather than offering a single argument, this volume offers a platform for scholars, especially Chinese scholars vs. Western scholars, to exchange and debate their different views and perspectives on China and the potential transition of international order.

Reviews

“Existing work in this area focuses upon what international order is likely to look like in the future without considering closely enough the current power transition that needs to be successfully negotiated so as to make it to that new order—whatever that order might be. There is nothing like this book on the market at present.” —Brendan Taylor, Professor of Strategic Studies, Australian National University

“China's Challenges and International Order Transition: Beyond “Thucydides Trap” is unique in that it brings together several scholarly, sometimes contending, perspectives. It is also useful in bringing in non-Chinese, non-US perspectives on the subject, which is often overly dominated by views from either side of the Pacific—to the detriment of other important perspectives and observations. The book can provide a one-stop overview of scholarly perspectives that draw from a variety of experiences and conceptual viewpoints.” —Ja Ian Chong, National University of Singapore

About the Author

Huiyun Feng is Senior Lecturer at the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University.

Kai He is Professor of International Relations at the Griffith Asia Institute and the Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University.