Confucianism in Chinese Foreign Policy: A Strategic-Cultural Analysis of the South China Sea Dispute

Abstract

The Rise of China has puzzled IR scholars for several decades. At the heart of the debate lies a question how will an increasingly powerful China act in the international system. Recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea are often viewed as a proof of an assertive China, despite the Chinese claims that their Confucian values make China a peaceful power. This thesis analyzes the South China Sea conflict through the theory of strategic culture, a part of the broader constructivist approach to the IR. After finding the specific traits of the Confucian strategic (sub)culture, both the Chinese narrative on the conflict as well as the actual Chinese behavior in the sea. It is found that Confucian norms and values provide a powerful rhetoric device utilized by the Chinese policy makers, which use them to legitimize the Chinese behavior in the sea to the domestic and to some extent also foreign audiences. However, the actual Chinese behavior rarely exhibits strong influences of Confucianism, suggesting that in actual behavior China acts in accord with realist predictions.