Beyond Anarchy: Order-Oriented Political Thoughts in the Pre-Qin Era and Their Inspirations to the International Relations Paradigm
Author: Hsin-chih Chen
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
Assuming an anarchical international structure, main-stream international relations paradigm from the West argued that international actors could only accommodate to this anarchical structure with power struggles for survival. However, Chinese political thoughts in the pre-Qin era encouraged states to seek the dominant position instead and to construct a corresponding hierarchical order.
This essay hopes to go beyond the existing assumption held by the major international relations paradigm, and tries to explore new approaches with order-orientated political thoughts in the pre-Qin era. It also tries to understand how and why the international actors in the pre-Qin era compete for the dominant position. Major political thoughts in China’s pre-Qin era assumed that the international structure naturally pushes actors to seek hierarchical order so to manage their internal and external disorders. States will look for power domination status in the international environment and construct a world order with the dominating state at its core.