China's Place in Four Recognition Regimes

7/23/2019 China's Place in Four Recognition Regimes

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China's Place in Four Recognition

RegimesErik Ringmar, SJTU, Shanghai

China is a distant empire, a wondrous kingdom, an economic miracle, a revolutionar

utopia! it is where all cheap stu"" is made, where pandas come "rom, and pollution, and

#espectacled politicians in #lack suits with awkward smiles who den human rights to

their people$ China is stagnant and histor%less, without progress unless "oreigners

suppl it, #ut also standing up, ever rising & peace"ull et menacingl & with a

Communist Part who #ans trade unions on #ehal" o" glo#al capitalism$ Toda the East is

Red and the dragon "inall soars, epanding its in"luence across the world, lending us

mone and convincing us all that we need to learn its language$ Civili(ations are

clashing, East and )est are meeting, China is no di""erent "rom ever#od else in an

increasingl #order%less world, ecept that the Chinese are enopho#ic and two%"aced$The twent%"irst%centur #elongs to China, unless the screw up, glo#al capitalism

withdraws its "avors, the people revolt, or the rest o" the world "inall grows tired o"

China%watching and applies the collection o" "anci"ul metaphors to some other, e*uall

#adl understood, countr in some other, e*uall distant, part o" the world$

The *uestion, in other words, is what China is and how we would ever know$

Studing the countr, talking to people who know it well, visiting and living in it, does not

necessaril help$+ The reason is that an description alwas must #e given in terms that

make sense to us, the non%Chinese, and the *uestion we ask ourselves is not what China

reall is- #ut instead what we can make o" it$ The *uestion, that is, is on what terms

China is recogni(ed$ )e need to come up with a description which allows us to identi"

+ China is not uni*ue in this respect$ .n the +/01s, Japan was given the same treatment$ SeeEndmion Porter )ilkinson,Japan Versus the West: Image and Reality23armondsworth4Penguin, +//+5$

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the countr as the same countr as one we identi"ied on a previous occasion$7 :ut an

process o" recognition, as alwas, will not concern its o#;ect as much as our wa o"

orienting ourselves towards it$

"ter

all, those cave%dweller o" prehistor who knew how to recogni(e tigers had a "ar #etter

chance than their less perceptive peers o" one da ending up as our ancestors$ :ut

recognition is also social$ ?ther people have #een in the same situation as the one in

which we "ind ourselves, and their eperiences help guide our choices$ There are sociall

prepared ;udgments, pre%;udgments, regarding how #est to recogni(e things$ .nstead o"

making up our own minds, we rel on these templates and call things what the are

called # others$ These pre%prepared ;udgments could perhaps #e called recognition

regimes$- Under a certain recognition regime something is recogni(ed # means o" the

principles, norms, rules, and decision%making procedures around which actor

epectations converge in a given issue%area$-@

7 Jens :artelson, Second Aatures4 .s the State .dentical with .tsel"B,- European Journal ofInternational Relations@, no$ < 2+//054 7/Dgainst the )est,- Cooperation & Conflict


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Recognition regimes eist in all social sstems, including international social sstems

which take states as theirs su#;ects$ )hen learning how to recogni(e another

international actor, we are guided # the principles, norms, rules and decision%making

procedures which the recognition regime provides$ Understanding this logic is crucial to

a state's survival$ Unless political leaders understand another state's #ehavior the will

not #e a#le to take the necessar precautions$ ?r, looking at this logic "rom the point o"

view o" the state #eing recogni(ed, it matters greatl how ou present oursel" to others$

Recognition regimes have rules regarding sel"%presentation$ :e"ore we can #e recogni(ed

we must make it possi#le "or others to identi" us$ To this end we must present

ourselves in the same guise, in the same place, or as a "ollower o" the same rules o"

conduct$ ?nl in this wa can others draw the conclusion that we indeed are the same

state as one that presented itsel" on a previous occasion$

The aim o" this paper is to introduce "our di""erent recognition regimes and to #rie"l

discuss how China has come to #e recogni(ed in their terms$ >lthough we tend to take

the current international sstem & the )estphalian sstem- & to descri#e the inevita#le

logic o" international politics, there are other international sstems and other logics, and

even within our current sstem there is more than one recognition regime$9 >s a result

what is counted as the constituent su#;ect o" an international sstem, and how this

su#;ect is recogni(ed, will var over time and #etween sstems$ >lthough states ma all

look alike, the are not everwhere the same$

"our recognition regimes

ets #egin *uite a#stractl # identi"ing "our separate recognition regimes & two

hierarchical and two egalitarian$ The "irst recognition regime we could perhaps call

aristocratic,- and it emphasi(es the pursuit o" honor and preeminence among the

Erik Ringmar, Per"orming .nternational Sstems4 Two East >sian >lternatives to the)estphalian ?rder,- International 'rgani(ation99, no$ 7 271+754 +D7$

9 :artelson provides a distinction #etween political, legal and moral recognition, see Jens

:artelson, Three Concepts o" Recognition,- International Theory, no$ 1+ 2Iarch 7+, 71+


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mem#ers o" a hereditar upper%class$8 )hat is recogni(ed here are heroes, aristocrats

and knights in shining armor$ 3eroes and knights give evidence o" their *ualities through

their eemplar conduct and the #rave, decisive, actions in which the engage$

0

The aimo" a hero is to live in such a wa that he is remem#ered in the stories told a#out him

a"ter his death$ et, since such recognition onl can #e given to trul eceptional

characters, the *uest "or preeminence will #e "ierce$ >ristocrats are the pale shadows o"

these heroic ancestors$ )hile invoking their memor, aristocrats de"end their own honor

mainl through gentlemanl manners and acts o" no)lesse o)lige$ >ristocrats too are

status%conscious, constantl #ickering a#out matters o" precedence and, occasionall,

challenging each other to duels$/ >s "ar as ordinar people are concerned, however, the

have no particular status to de"end$ Regular people, #us with the monotonous

reproduction o" li"e, are neither heroes nor aristocrats, and the are not even actors

properl speaking since the never have an opportunities to do something trul

eceptional$

For the net recognition regime, imagine a societ which is understood not as an

a#stract, all%encompassing, entit, #ut instead an enormous we# o" personal,

hierarchical, relationships & #etween "ather and son, ruler and su#;ect, hus#and and

wi"e, and so on$+1 Each relationship entails a "ied set o" o#ligations4 the in"erior part

should o#e the superior #ut the superior part should take responsi#ilit "or the in"erior,

listen to her and care a#out her well%#eing$ From the atinpater, perhaps we could call

this recognition regime patrimonial$- .n order to achieve social harmon and order all

8 See, "or eample, Richard Aed e#ow, Cultural Theory of International Relations2Cam#ridge4 Cam#ridge Universit Press, 71105! Richard Aed e#ow, Spirit, Recognition andForeign Polic4 =erman and )orld )ar ..,- in The International Politics of Recognition, ed$Thomas indemann and Erik Ringmar 2:oulder4 Paradigm, 71++5, 08D+10$

0 ?n heroic societies,- see >lasdair Iac.ntre,fter Virtue: "tudy in *oral Theory2Aotreame4 Universit o" Aotre ame Press, +/0@5! Peter :erger, ?n the ?#solescence o" theConcept o" 3onor,- in Re%isions: Changing Perspecti%es in *oral Philosophy, ed$ Stanle3auerwar and >lasdair Iacintre 2Aotre ame4 Aotre ame Universit Press, +/0


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that is re*uired is that each person carries out the duties associated with each position$

)hat is #eing recogni(ed here, in other words, is not the identit o" an individual #ut

instead onl the position a person occupies in a particular relationship$ The relationships

are "ied whereas individuals *uite easil can move #etween positions$ Everone is

someone else's in"erior, at least some o" the time, and this includes the ruler who is

"orced to su#mit himsel" #e"ore his own parents$ To re"use to assume a position, or to

re"use to carr out its associated o#ligations, is e""ectivel to den recognition to onesel"$

Aet imagine the pro#lem o" recognition as it presents itsel" in a societ without

"ied social positions, where all mem#ers, in theor at least, are granted the same

status$ Since there are no predetermined was o" relating to others, it is not at all clear

how the should #e recogni(ed$ ?ne wa to deal with this challenge is to #racket

*uestions o" identities and instead to "ocus onl on what others want$++ )hat interests

us here are the interests others have and the strategies the use to pursue them$ For

that reason this recognition regime could perhaps #e called strategic$- Since an

understanding o" the desires o" others re*uires a lot o" detailed in"ormation, however,

this regime would never work #ut "or a radical simpli"ication$ )e assume, not

unreasona#l, that others want the kinds o" things that are treasured in our societ &

the mone, power, #eaut and "ame associated with success$ : ignoring personal

characteristics, however, we will inevita#l come to relate to others in an instrumental

"ashion$ >s "ar as we know, the others ma as well #e ro#ots programmed # a

computer$ Thinking a#out others in this manner, we inevita#l end up with an

uncomplicated understanding also o" our own selves$ Su#;ects o" the same desires, we

are what we are and we want what we want$

)e could, however, attempt to learn more a#out the people with whom we interact$

)e could treat them not as ro#ots #ut as individuals with an interior li"e and a personalit

++ Thomas 3o##es, .e%iathan, ?riginall Pu#lished in +9+ 23armondsworth4 Penguin, +/075!For a discussion, see :ar#ara F$ Carnevali, Power and Recognition4 The 3o##esian Iodel-

2presented at the Recognition4 Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Research, Florence4European Universit .nstitute, 7115! =a#riella Slomp, Thomas +o))es and the PoliticalPhilosophy of /lory2:asingstoke4 Palgrave Iacmillan, 71115$

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which is uni*uel their own$+7 et who others are is never eas to "igure out$ For the

same reason that we never trul can understand ourselves, we will never *uite

understand others$ .n order to learn more we must ask others to reveal themselves, to

show themselves #e"ore us and to tell us who the are$ Ieanwhile we will reveal

ourselves to them in the same "ashion, showing and talking a#out ourselves$ .n this wa,

in a reciprocal process o" sel"%revelation, we will step # step come to present ourselves

to others$ The "act that these selves will #e made up rather than preeisting and real-

does not matter as long as our sel"%presentations are #eing recogni(ed$ To the etent

that the are, we will #e encouraged to go on, and in this wa we will graduall come to

know, to trust and to accept, each other$ )e #uild ties o" "riendship and love$+s "ar as an entire societ is concerned it is o#viousl *uite impossi#le to #ase it on

such intimate recognition$ There are "ar too man others and there is not enough time to

learn who the all are$ .nstead we simpl assume others to #e similar to ourselves and

that we all share a wa o" li"e and a wa o" looking at the world$ .t is on this intimate

#asis that we #uild "eelings o" national sentiments and solidarit or, in relations #etween

societies, a shared sense o" civili(ation$+@ Iem#ership in these communities is o"ten

epressed in legal terms4 we have rights, as citi(ens and as mem#er o" international

societ$+ : "ollowing the law, we de"ine ourselves as mem#ers o" this societ, and it is

on this #asis that we present ourselves to others$ aw, here, does not onl help us

distinguish accepta#le actions "rom unaccepta#le, #ut in addition it determines the

communit to which the law itsel" applies$+9 : "ollowing the law we come to recogni(e

+7 =$)$F$ 3egel, Phenomenology of "pirit, ?riginall Pu#lished in +018 2Aew ork4 ?"ordUniversit Press, +/8/5, +8D+00$

+< This a""ective logic is emphasi(ed in >el 3onneth, The "truggle for Recognition: The *oral/rammar of "ocial Conflicts2Cam#ridge4 I.T Press, +//95! See "urther >el 3onneth,Recognition :etween States4 ?n the Ioral Su#strate o" .nternational Relations,- in TheInternational Politics of Recognition, ed$ Thomas indemann and Erik Ringmar 2:oulder4Paradigm, 71++5$

+@ Erik Ringmar, Aationalism4 The .dioc o" .ntimac,- The ritish Journal of "ociology@/, no$ @2ecem#er +//054 3egelian .nterpretation o" a PeculiarSeventeenth%Centur Preoccupation,- Re%ie# of International "tudies7+, no$ + 2Januar

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ourselves, and we ask others to recogni(e us, as the kind o" su#;ect to whom the law

itsel" applies$

up or downB

The "irst European visitors to China, traveling during the Pa! *ongolicao" the

thirteenth%centur, were invaria#l enthralled # the man wondrous things the

discovered$+8 China, the decided, was an immensel rich and power"ul countr ruled #

an emperor with despotic powers$ Europe, clearl, did not compare$ The Chinese, "or

their part, were hardl surprised that "oreign visitors showed up at their court$ China,

according to the o""icial world view, was the center o" the world, and the emperor was

the Son o" 3eaven- with a personal responsi#ilit "or keeping 3eaven and Earth in

harmon with each other$ The "oreigners, the Chinese #elieved, arrived in :ei;ing to

recogni(e him in this role and to #ene"it "rom the advantages o" Chinese civili(ation$

?rgani(ing these visits into a regular sstems o" "oreign relations, various East >sia

states, #ut also the occasional European countr, were o#liged to show up at the Chinese

court at regular intervals, #earing tri#utes and 0outou%ing #e"ore the imperial throne$+0

The emperor would reciprocate # giving even more costl gi"ts in return and # treating

the visitors to meals and entertainments$ .n this wa a patrimonial relationship o"

mutual o#ligations was esta#lished4 the emperor assumed his place as superior and the

visitors as in"erior$

>"ter China's complete humiliation in the Second ?pium )ar, +091, these roles were

*uickl reversed4 Europe #ecame the teacher- and China the student,- and duti"ull the

Chinese #egan learning their lessons$-+/ These relations too were patrimonial4 the

+//54 08D+1


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Europeans took responsi#ilit "or helping their little ellow #rothers- and to graduall

introduce them into the world which was theirs$ The Chinese esta#lished a proper

European%stle Foreign Iinistr in +09+, #egan teaching "oreign languages and the

rudiments o" diplomatic procedures to a new crop o" students, and the latest works on

international law were translated into Chinese$71 .n +088, the "irst Chinese diplomats

were stationed a#road, and Chinese diplomats #egan participating in international

con"erences! a"ter +091s, the Chinese authorities no longer insisted on use o" the

0outou$ esperate to "it in, the Chinese diplomats alwas made sure to carr themselves

with dignit, *uoting etensivel, in "oreign languages, "rom the statutes o" international

law$ The looked ;ust like Europeans in their tails, #owler%hats and white shirts with

starched collars$7+

espite the "act that the Chinese clearl had learned their lessons ver well, the

were never admitted as a regular mem#er o" international societ$ .n the "irst hal" o" the

nineteenth%centur, China's sovereignt was constantl violated! the countr was

invaded, divided, and its views were routinel ignored at international con"erences$

Restoring China's international position was one o" the chie" goals o" the Communist

Revolution o" +/@/$ China has stood up,- Chairman Iao proudl declared, making clear

that his countr would accept no "urther humiliations$77 et this new position was not

recogni(ed # the ma;orit o" "oreign countries$ .t was instead the losers in the Civil )ar,

the renegade province- o" Taiwan, that was recogni(ed in international "orums like the

United Aations$7s an alternative to the )estern world, Iao declared China to #e the

leader o" an eplicitl anti%)estern coalition o" states$ There was an alternative

China2Aew ork4 Palgrave, 71+wakening,- The siatic 5uarterly Re%ie#2Januar +00854 +D+1$

77 Iao Nedong, The Chinese People 3ave Stood Up,- 6C. Center for East sian "tudies,Septem#er 7+, +/@/$

7< ana Nuo, Sel"%.denti"ication, Recognition, and Con"lict4 The Evolution o" TaiwanLs .dentit,+/@/%7110,- in The International Politics of Recognition, ed$ Thomas indemann and ErikRingmar 2:oulder4 Paradigm, 71++5, +


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world%order, variousl descri#ed as the Aon%>ligned Iovement- or, more aggressivel,

as Third )orld- countries #ent on world revolution$ .n m view, the United States and

the Soviet Union "orm the "irst world$ Japan, Europe and Canada, the middle section,

#elong to the second world$ )e are the third world$-7@

.t was easier "or China to gain recognition under this alternative description$ )hen

Prime Iinister Nhou Enlai presented himsel" at the "irst meeting o" the Aon%>ligned

Iovement in :andung in >pril +/ he was treated as a "igure o" world%historical

signi"icance$7 The pre"erred mode, however, was to ask "oreigners to come to China$

The >merican ;ournalist Edgar Snow made the trek to anan alread in the +/


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#e"ore the imperial throne$7/ )hile other Europeans had ignored the re*uirement in

order to gain trade concessions "rom the Chinese, the 0outou, to the :ritish, represented

an unaccepta#le degradation o" their countr$ The Chinese, "or whom the in"erior status

o" all "oreign visitors was a given, were incensed and promptl sent Iacartne packing$

Similarl, when the .talian "ilm%maker Iichelangelo >ntonioni visited China in +/87 he

did not portra the countr in as enthusiastic terms as the Communist Part had

epected$


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changing, re"orming its econom, administrative sstem and militar$ The result is a

China which will #e vastl more power"ul than #e"ore$ >s such it will have an

unprecedented a#ilit to uphold its sovereignt #ut it will also pose new threats to its

neigh#ors$ This power must #e checked #ut it can also #e harnessed and used to

counter%#alance the power o" other states$ From the moment China #ecomes as strong

as Roumania is now that is, can dispose o" a corps o" +11,111 trained men, or their

e*uivalent, she #ecomes a power that must enter into the com#inations o" England,

Russia, and France$-s several >merican authors insisted, this provided a particular

opportunit "or their countr$ )ith an ocean in common, and no histor o" animosit, the

United States was in a good position to #ene"it "rom the new China$


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the United States, improved its position in world politics$ .t was a marriage o"

convenience to #e sure, #ut then again, according to strategicall minded thinkers, this is

what most alliances in world politics are$ China was not necessaril di""erent in this

respect$

This strategic recognition regime was dominant until +//1 when it suddenl was

undermined # two unepected events$ The "irst was the process set in motion # the

#reakup o" the Soviet Union & the end o" the Communist #lock, o" the Communist

ideolog, and o" the Cold )ar$ The other was the massacre at Tiananmen S*uare in June

+/0/ which drew indignant reactions "rom the rest o" the world$ The end o" the Cold )ar

would normall have #rought the "ormer ideological enemies closer together$ This was

particularl the case since China # this time "or some ten ears had developed in what

onl ideological dogmatism could den was a distinctl capitalist "ashion$ et as the

events o" Tiananmen demonstrated, China reall was still not a normal countr, a countr

like others & it was not democratic, it violated human rights, its leaders emploed the

arm against their own people$ ?nce the end o" the Cold )ar made it sa"e to stop

recogni(ing interests, identities once again #ecame salient$

Relations #etween China, the United States and Europe remained "rost i" not

entirel "ro(en "or close to ten ears and even once summit meetings were resumed &

with Jiang Nemin's visit to )ashington in +//8 & the topic o" human rights- "eatured

prominentl on the agenda$ The Chinese leaders were alwas resent"ul o" this turn o"

events, insisting that states o" di""erent kinds could maintain per"ectl "riendl relations

as long as the onl learned to respect each other's sovereignt$ The Chinese leaders

were alwas happiest in a strategic recognition regime where the nature o" their political

sstem was not a topic o" de#ate$ )e are read to enhance dialogue and echanges

with the U$S$ side to promote the world's cause o" human rights,- as 3u Jintao eplained

in 7119, #ut this can onl happen on the #asis o" mutual respect and e*ualit$-""airs clari"ied, does not "ear the


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antagonism o" other countries$-


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"ormulated # international ;urists, the new legal "ramework soon took the "orm o"

international treaties and it was even incorporated into the manuals which guided

soldiers in the "ield$$ Grauel, >pplica#ilit du droit des gens europen la Chine,- Re%ue dedroit international et de l>gislation compar>e/ 2+08854


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Ioreover, the :ritish insisted that its merchants should have unimpeded access to

China's markets$@+ The right to trade "reel, the argued, was a principle given #

natural law, which applied e*uall to all human #eings and which, in the a#sence o" a

positive law, was the onl "orm o" international law applica#le to China$ The two wars

"ought over this issue V the ?pium )ars, +0nd as we saw a#ove, the Europeans

were never convinced that the Chinese had accomplished these tasks V not in +091, not

in +/11 or +/+/, and not in +/@/$

The more "undamental pro#lem concerns the kinds o" demands which the

identit%#ased recognition regime imposes$ 3ere we are all re*uired to give an account

o" ourselves and to develop mutual ties o" "riendship, love and respect #ased on who we

@+ For a comprehesive overview see J$ $ )ong, 3eadly 3reams: 'pium and the rro# WarD9@;49@B in China2Cam#ridge4 Cam#ridge Universit Press, 71175! Ringmar, .i)eralar)arism$

@7 Erik Ringmar, Ialice in )onderland4 reams o" the ?rient and the estruction o" the Palaceo" the Emperor o" China,-Journal of World +istory77, no$ 7 271++54 78pplica#ilit du droit des gens$-

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reveal ourselves to #e$ To the etent that our counterparts turn out to #e radicall other,

strange or unsavor, the cannot #e recogni(ed on e*ual terms$ .n 3egel's version o"

this logic a process o" mutual ad;ustment takes places where# parties o" radicall

di""erent status graduall #ecome similar to each other$@@ This process is the engine that

pushes histor "orward and histor ends when recognition "inall is granted on e*ual

terms$ To man scholars o" international relations, the Europeans societ o" states

constitutes a similar achievement$@ This anarchical societ- presents solutions which,

although not actuall settling the perennial pro#lems o" world politics, nevertheless

provide our #est attempts at dealing with them$ .nternational law, international

organi(ations, #alances o" power, great%power concerts and alliances are all social

institutions arrived at # states which mutuall recogni(e each other's identities$ Even

when the make war in the most horri"ic was, the still consider #oth themselves and

each other as civili(ed$-

:ut something cruciall important is overlooked$ The struggle "or recognition, as

conceived o" # 3egel and his "ollowers, consists o" onl two parties who interact in a

world where no#od else is present$ This means that the state o" mutual recognition,

once it is achieved, never is ;utaposed to anone else$ There is no outside, as it were,

which is recogni(ed on other terms$ Compare the wa scholars o" international relations

have assumed that the #lessings o" European international societ graduall will come to

encompass all other states$@9 This sel"%congratulator account hides the real stor o"

what happened when the Europeans in the nineteenth%centur came to take over the

world$ .nternational societ was not"ormed as like%minded, civili(ed, countries

eventuall reali(ed how much the had in common, and as the, generousl, etend the

#ene"its o" their civili(ation to everone else$ Rather, the Europeans #ecame civili(ed as

the drew as sharp line as possi#le #etween themselves and the non%European$ The line

@@ 3egel, Phenomenology of "pirit$

@ 3edle :ull, The narchical "ociety: "tudy of 'rder in World Politics2Aew ork4 Colum#iaUniversit Press, +/885! >dam )atson, The E%olution of International "ociety: Comparati%e

+istorical nalysis, originall pu#lished in +//7 2ondon4 Routledge, 711/5$@9 )atson, E%olution of International "ociety, 79D789! 3edle :ull and >dam )atson, eds$, TheE!pansion of International "ociety2?"ord4 ?"ord Universit Press, +/05$

+9 6 716 8980


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#etween the civili(ed and the uncivili(ed did not name a preeisting di""erence, that is,

#ut it came to constitutea di""erence which previousl did not eist$ The Europeans

#ecame civili(ed as the others were turned into savages and #ar#arians, and it was as

savages and #ar#arians that the non%Europeans were made war on, occupied and, on

some cases, o#literated$ These murderous practices, "urthermore, helped to rein"orce

the distinctions the named$ .t was # making war on the #ar#arians that their

#ar#arian *ualities were revealed$

con*uer or #e con*ueredB

There is one recognition regime le"t to discuss V the one in which heroes and aristocrats

"ight "or preeminence$ This is where China is identi"ied as a challenger to the dominant

position in world politics held "irst # the Europeans and later # >mericans$ China is

"inall waking up, the countr is rising, and the Chinese are #ent on revenge! the dragon

cannot #e reasoned with, cannot #e contained, #ut must instead #e con"ronted and slain$

There are two times when this recognition regime was commonl applied4 "irst at the

turn o" the twentieth%centur and then, again, a hundred ears later$

=iven the wa China was de"eated, humiliated, and "or a while on the verge o"

complete disintegration, it is surprising that there were those at the turn o" the

twentieth%centur who were convinced that the countr constituted a threat$@8 =iven the

enormous resources at the countr's disposal, the argument went, #oth in terms o" si(e

and population, China has a right"ul place as a ma;or plaer in world politics$ ue to

their "ailure to interact with the world, however, the have until now "ailed to claim this

position, et this is now a#out to change$ >ll that is needed is "or the Chinese to

com#ine their resources and traditions with the latest European advances in science and

technolog$ oing this will make them a State which no Power in Europe will dare to

disregard! with an arm which could march # "ied stages across >sia! and a "leet which

could hold its own against an the strongest o" the European Powers could a""ord to keep

@8 >s Cur(on pointed out, such views are shared # no contemporar authorit who eitherknows or has resided in China itsel"$- =eorge Aathaniel Cur(on, Pro)lems of the -ar East:Japan, Forea, China2Aew ork4 ongman, +0/95, @11$

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permanentl in Chinese waters$8G@ ?nce civili(ation has spread e*uall around the glo#e,

the most populous countr must ultimatel #e the most power"ul! and the

preponderance o" China over an rival even over the United States o" >merica is likel to

#e overwhelming$-@/

This threat, in a metaphor popular at the time, was o"ten descri#ed as a ellow

peril$- .n Aorth >merica there was a particular "ear regarding the long%term

conse*uences o" Chinese immigration$ ." the Chinese move to the United States in the

same proportion as the .rish or the =ermans, it was pointed out, the countr will

eventuall have more Chings and Changs in their genealogical trees than Smiths and

:rowns$-1 The Chinese have high #irth%rates, the work diligentl, and the are a#le to

thrive in an climate$ This is also wh the are spreading throughout South%east >sia$+

>t least some Europeans were prepared to take up arms against this imaginar threat$

)hen =erman troops em#arked "or China on Jul 78, +/11, to help *uell the uprising V

the :oer Re#ellion V that reportedl had taken Europeans as its targets, Gaiser )ilhelm

admonished his men to #e "ierce4Should ou encounter the enem, he will #e de"eated Ao *uarter will #egiven Prisoners will not #e taken )hoever "alls into our hands is "or"eited$Just as a thousand ears ago the 3uns under their Ging >ttila made a name"or themselves, one that even toda makes them seem might in histor andlegend, ma the name =erman #e a""irmed # ou in such a wa in China thatno Chinese will ever again dare to look cross%eed Wscheel an(usehenX at a=erman$7

> hundred ears later the arguments are strikingl similar$ China is once again waking

up- and claiming its right"ul place in international societ$- The result, some haveargued, is #ound to #e desta#ili(ing, and the most alarmist have talked o" the

inevita#ilit o" war$mong several eamples, see "or eample, Peter Aavarro, The Coming China Wars WhereThey Will e -ought and +o# They Will e Won2Upper Saddle River4 Financial Times Press,

+0 6 716 8980


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civili(ations will sooner or later come to clash$@

>larmed at such sa#er%rattling, the Chinese have tried to reassure the rest o" the

world$ )ill not the awakening o"


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the real China, the actuall eisting China, and i" ou keep our ees peeled ou can

record as man o#servations ou like regarding what this real China reall is like$ The

pro#lem is onl that none o" it adds up to anthing that we would recogni(e as China,- a

countr understood as a collective entit, a *uasi%person, to which V or to whom V the

rest o" the world is "orced to relate$ China, the *uasi%person, has a collective nature,

national interests, even ha#its and *uirks, which are uni*uel its own$ This *uasi%person

is never ;ust there #ut must instead #e imagined, and this imagination will necessaril

"ollow certain rules$0 .t is these rules that recognition regimes suppl$

The #est *uestion is thus not what China reall is like #ut instead wh we come to

imagine the countr under one recognition regime rather than another$ This *uestion we

have alread discussed$ Recognition, we said, is a matter o" determining what something

means in the contet o" someone's li"e$ Unless we learn to recogni(e things we "ail to

sei(e opportunities and to avoid dangers$ Recognition in relations #etween states is thus

not a scholarl as much as a political activit! it is more like identi"ing "oreign

"ighter%planes during a war than "lowers during a #otanical "ield%trip$/ This is not to sa

that we can let our imagination run "ree$ China is an imagined #ut it is not a "ictional

countr$ Facts still need to #e esta#lished and checked! incorrect interpretations must #e

re;ected$ ?nce this process o" checking and dou#le%checking is concluded, however,

there are still likel to remain a num#er o" per"ectl plausi#le Chinas$ 3ow we choose

#etween them will depend not on China #ut on how we dream, what we hope "or, and

what we "ear$ Recogni(ing this "act, what we recogni(e is not onl China #ut also

ourselves$

0 See "urther Ringmar, The .nternational Politics o" Recognition$-/ Recognition of the Japanese Hero -ighter, :ernard Horhus 2US >rm >ir Forces, +/@

China's Place in Four Recognition Regimes

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