•  
  •  
 

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

Authors

Anlei ZuoFollow

Abstract

China’s approaches to international law are an example of non-Western peoples’ perspectives towards the Western-dominated international law. How has China understood and interacted with the Western- dominated international law since its modern history? This research provides a historical and evolutionary framework for “China and international law” to reveal China’s approaches to the Western dominated international law since the Opium War. It finds that China is historically critical and culturally conservative, and since the Opium War, it has interacted with the Western-dominated international law in a reluctant, instrumental and pragmatic way. The research concludes that the final goal of China’s participation in international society and interaction with the Western-dominated international law has always been national rejuvenation. The South China Sea arbitration case illustrates the growing divergences between Chinese perceptions of international law and the Western-dominated international law that result from clash of ignorance” rather than a “clash of civilizations.” Structural biases and systematic violence of Eurocentrism in the Western dominated international law and international legal scholarship are integral components of the “clash of ignorance,” and the rise of China could be an opportunity to rectify them with a more democratic and balanced approach.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.