Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour

Overall, the subject has remained relatively understudied. In this context, this paper presents a broader picture of the importance of the topic as such. It does not attempt to present a complete picture of the role of historical memory in Chinese foreign policy. Instead, it identifies the main poin...

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מחבר ראשי: Bachulska, Alicja
פורמט: Online
שפה:אנגלית
יצא לאור: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego 2025
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גישה מקוונת:ONIX_20250307_9788382207941_1441
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author Bachulska, Alicja
author_browse Bachulska, Alicja
author_facet Bachulska, Alicja
author_sort Bachulska, Alicja
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Overall, the subject has remained relatively understudied. In this context, this paper presents a broader picture of the importance of the topic as such. It does not attempt to present a complete picture of the role of historical memory in Chinese foreign policy. Instead, it identifies the main points of reference that should be treated as the invitation for further research. It also highlights certain new developments that might suggest what to expecct in the future. However, from the perspective of international politics, scientists have been somehow reluctant to study the impact of historical memory on states’ behaviour. In the academic world of IR, dominated by realism, immeasurable factors like identity or culture, have been considered largely insignificant in shaping international politics. If one defines power as one state’s ability to control a given sphere either militarily or economically, intangible factors somehow “naturally” get sidelined. Nevertheless, given the worldwide resurgence of nationalism as a political force shaping international relations and the impossibility of explaining it with purely realist means, some observers have turned towards a re-examination of alternative or subsidiary explanations of factors influencing states’ international behaviour. Northeast Asia accounts for one of the most well-developed regions with the world’s three largest economic powers. However, as former South Korean President Park Geun-hye described, it also constitutes a “paradox.” On one hand, states are able to successfully cooperate on the economic basis. On the other hand, there are a number of obstacles, involving primarily unresolved historical issues and security concerns, that impede further regional collaboration. The aim of the article is to analyse the process of regional integration in Northeast Asia, with particular focus on Japan – Republic of Korea relations, through the lenses of neo-functionalism. The essay seeks to determine whether this approach could lead to increasing transnational ties in the region and ultimately improve international relations on bilateral and multilateral basis. Neo-functional theory of regional integration has been mostly applied to research on the European integration process. Consequently, there have been few attempts of testing its assumptions in other regions. Nevertheless, there seems to be substantial evidence to perceive neo-functionalism as a promising theoretical approach beyond Europe. Since neo-functionalists place supranational, transnational and sub-national actors at the centre of the analysis, the article, apart from the economic dimension, will elaborate on the potential of existing international structure, namely the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1557912025-03-07T14:37:01Z Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour Bachulska, Alicja China–U.S. relations South China Sea Sino-Cuban relations North Korean nuclear crisis Japan–South Korea relations Overall, the subject has remained relatively understudied. In this context, this paper presents a broader picture of the importance of the topic as such. It does not attempt to present a complete picture of the role of historical memory in Chinese foreign policy. Instead, it identifies the main points of reference that should be treated as the invitation for further research. It also highlights certain new developments that might suggest what to expecct in the future. However, from the perspective of international politics, scientists have been somehow reluctant to study the impact of historical memory on states’ behaviour. In the academic world of IR, dominated by realism, immeasurable factors like identity or culture, have been considered largely insignificant in shaping international politics. If one defines power as one state’s ability to control a given sphere either militarily or economically, intangible factors somehow “naturally” get sidelined. Nevertheless, given the worldwide resurgence of nationalism as a political force shaping international relations and the impossibility of explaining it with purely realist means, some observers have turned towards a re-examination of alternative or subsidiary explanations of factors influencing states’ international behaviour. Northeast Asia accounts for one of the most well-developed regions with the world’s three largest economic powers. However, as former South Korean President Park Geun-hye described, it also constitutes a “paradox.” On one hand, states are able to successfully cooperate on the economic basis. On the other hand, there are a number of obstacles, involving primarily unresolved historical issues and security concerns, that impede further regional collaboration. The aim of the article is to analyse the process of regional integration in Northeast Asia, with particular focus on Japan – Republic of Korea relations, through the lenses of neo-functionalism. The essay seeks to determine whether this approach could lead to increasing transnational ties in the region and ultimately improve international relations on bilateral and multilateral basis. Neo-functional theory of regional integration has been mostly applied to research on the European integration process. Consequently, there have been few attempts of testing its assumptions in other regions. Nevertheless, there seems to be substantial evidence to perceive neo-functionalism as a promising theoretical approach beyond Europe. Since neo-functionalists place supranational, transnational and sub-national actors at the centre of the analysis, the article, apart from the economic dimension, will elaborate on the potential of existing international structure, namely the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat. 2025-03-07T14:36:58Z 2025-03-07T14:36:58Z 2021 chapter ONIX_20250307_9788382207941_1441 9788382207941 9788382207934 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/155791 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.press.uni.lodz.pl/index.php/wul/catalog/book/858 Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego 10.18778/8220-793-4.06 10.18778/8220-793-4.06 83bfe9c9-323d-4283-b087-d859fd9af314 9788382207941 9788382207934 73-83 open access
spellingShingle China–U.S. relations
South China Sea
Sino-Cuban relations
North Korean nuclear crisis
Japan–South Korea relations
Bachulska, Alicja
Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour
title Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour
title_full Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour
title_fullStr Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour
title_full_unstemmed Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour
title_short Chapter Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour
title_sort chapter politics of memory for a new era mainland chinese historical memory nationalism and their impact on chinese international behaviour
topic China–U.S. relations
South China Sea
Sino-Cuban relations
North Korean nuclear crisis
Japan–South Korea relations
topic_facet China–U.S. relations
South China Sea
Sino-Cuban relations
North Korean nuclear crisis
Japan–South Korea relations
url ONIX_20250307_9788382207941_1441
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