A Responsible Power? China and the UN Peacekeeping Regime

Abstract

The People's Republic of China asserts that it is a responsible power in international affairs, emphasizing its participation in UN peacekeeping as evidence of its exemplary behaviour. In order to uncover what ‘responsible power’ means in the context of Chinese participation in peacekeeping, this article analyses the motivations and barriers that shape China's peacekeeping deployments. The term ‘responsible power’ has value not only because it is flexible, capturing China's ambivalence regarding peacekeeping, but also because ‘responsible power’ enables China to frame the discourse regarding its foreign and security policy. It appears that for the near future, China remains committed to modest engagement in peacekeeping. The article concludes that China has the potential to foster an ever more constructive role in the UN peacekeeping regime. However, in order to effectively engage China, a deeper understanding of the policy priorities of Chinese foreign policy actors is needed.