Harmonious Intervention ― China's Quest for Relational Security

Two major features of international relations at the beginning of the 21st century are global governance and the rise of China. Global governance, advocating global norms, requires intervention into sovereign domains in defiance of those norms. However, an ascendant China adheres to a classic stance on sovereign integrity which prohibits such intervention. Whether or not China will ultimately Sinicize global governance or become assimilated into global norms remains both a theoretical and a practical challenge. Both challenges come from Chinaa€?s alternative style of global governance, which embodies the doctrine of 'balance of relationship,' in contrast with the familiar international relations embedded in a€?balance of powera€? or a€?balance of interest.a€? An understanding of Chinaa€?s intervention policy based upon the logic of balance of relationship is therefore the key to tackling the anxiety precipitated by these theoretical as well as practical challenges.

Chiung-Chiu Huang, National Chengchi University, Taiwan and Chih-yu Shih, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.