Description
There has been a long theoretical debate about power shifts and the transformation of the post-Cold War liberal order (Acharya, Ikenberry, Haas, Kupchan, Buzan and others). Such transformation is characterised by the ongoing competition of various promoted ideas on how the world should look. Drawing on the concepts of discursive hegemony (Laclau, Mouffe, Wojczewski) and narrative alliances (Homolar & Turner, Roselle), I analyse strategic documents of Russia and China, as well as program speeches of their official leaders (from February 2014 to July 2024), to outline and compare visions of a better world order that these countries attempt to establish globally. These visions are considered elements of counter-hegemonic discursive struggle between competing narratives advancing specific interpretations of reality. The presentation aims to reveal at which aspects and to what extent China’s and Russia’s visions coincide and conflict and whether they can constitute a narrative alliance, i.e. a shared system of allegiance articulating a common understanding of a better world and obstacles to creating it.
