Review Essay: How to Merge Western Theories and Chinese Indigenous Theories to Study Chinese Politics?

Abstract

A recent trend in political science is the rise of non-Western theories or indigenous theories. This theory development has complicated the relationship between Western theories and the China case in particular. In the existing literature, Chinese politics scholars have demonstrated what political science can do for China and how the China case can contribute to political science in general. Yet, with the rise of Chinese indigenous theories, it is imperative to explore how to merge Western theories and indigenous theories of China to study Chinese politics. This review essay shows that three approaches can fulfill the task: (1) indigenous theories as core, Western theories as periphery; (2) Western theories as core, indigenous theory as periphery; and (3) Western theories and indigenous theories as a dual core. Merging Western and Chinese indigenous theories opens unprecedented opportunities for more sophisticated analyses on Chinese politics.