The Identity Factor in Chinese Relations with Europe: China and the Barbarian Civilization

This book offers a sustained, historically grounded analysis of the identity factor in China-Europe relations. The identity of the modern Chinese state was forged in the context of European emissaries, gunboats, and books. The effects still shape China’s policies towards Europe today, as it becomes a focal point in the great power competition between the US and China. The author argues that identity dilemmas are central to Chinese Europe policies, both past and present. This is reflected in the two-pronged composition of the book; one historical section, combined and complemented with one contemporary section. Case studies of three key political flashpoints between the EU, individual European countries, and China over the last two decades, demonstrates the contemporary relevance of a set of identity issues whose deep roots are uncovered through analysing Chinese political texts from the preceding two centuries. Aimed primarily at scholars and students of Chinese and European international relations, this book will also be of interest to scholars of ontological security theory, constructivism, and other identity-driven approaches to international politics.

Bjørnar Sverdrup-Thygeson is Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), specializing in Chinese foreign policy and international relations theory. He holds a PhD from the LSE, after studies at Oxford and universities in Norway and China, and has published on a broad range of topics related to Chinese foreign policies of the past and present.