Description
This research explores China’s role in shaping regional orders in East Asia, highlighting the complex ways it interacts with varying regional and international frameworks. As China ascends as a global power, its engagement with both global norms and regional institutions fosters a dynamic interaction between international expectations and localized practices. This study investigates China's nuanced approach to distinct regional orders in East Asia, focusing specifically on security, economic, and environmental domains.
Building on the foundational work of Alastair Iain Johnston and Amitav Acharya, this study utilizes norm circulation theory to analyze China’s engagement with regional orders. This theory emphasizes that global norms are not simply adopted but are localized and adapted by domestic actors before being reintroduced into international settings. China’s interactions exemplify this bidirectional process, whereby it both adopts and reshapes norms to align with its national interests and regional strategies.
The research focuses on how China’s approach varies across different issue-specific orders. By examining the distinct ways China engages with security, economic, and environmental frameworks in East Asia—a region marked by economic interdependence and complex security dynamics—this study aims to reveal the motivations underlying China’s selective engagement and adaptation of norms. This approach underscores the coexistence of overlapping, sometimes contradictory clusters of order rather than a singular international framework.
The guiding question is: Why does China engage differently with various regional orders in East Asia? Through case studies, this research shows how domestic actors in China navigate and reshape international norms. By clarifying the dynamics of China’s regional interactions, the study contributes to understanding norm localization and the complex interplay of global and regional orders in a multipolar world.
