China's Place in Four Recognition Regimes
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Transcript of 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$
+ 6 716 8980
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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,
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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, +/@