Politics and International Relations
Hamid Hakim; Emad Helalat
Abstract
Soft power is a tool utilized by different actors in the evolving international system based on their capabilities. In this transformed international system, soft power becomes a vital element in increasing influence over international outcomes, as it makes it more difficult to coerce countries and non-state ...
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Soft power is a tool utilized by different actors in the evolving international system based on their capabilities. In this transformed international system, soft power becomes a vital element in increasing influence over international outcomes, as it makes it more difficult to coerce countries and non-state actors through traditional hard power tools that mean threats and force.
The People's Republic of China is one of the influential actors in the realm of international relations. Its large economy, ranking second in the world, has enabled the country to utilize its economic power as a tool to advance its goals. According to most experts in the field of economics and international relations, China is projected to surpass the United States as the world's leading economy by 2030 and establish itself as a dominant economic power on the international stage, although Joseph Nye disputes this notion in his book "The Intelligent Power."
Over the past few decades, China's foreign policy has pursued different dimensions and forms of power in the international arena, in line with its domestic environment and international circumstances. China's bitter historical experience in dealing with Western powers and enduring the era of humiliation, as well as the ideological components stemming from the Communist revolution, shaped its foreign policy during Mao's era with a strong hardware-oriented approach to power and a focus on win-lose dynamics. With the emergence of Deng Xiaoping, China's foreign policy outlook shifted towards a process of power acquisition and security enhancement. Since the 1990s, significant changes have occurred in China's domestic and international conditions, as the emphasis solely on one dimension of power made the country vulnerable to long-term interests. It was in the mid-1990s that soft power gained a special position in China's foreign policy. Jiang Zemin believed that due to various internal and international reasons, China had to incorporate new dimensions of power, including soft power, into its agenda to change its position and ensure security.
Among the influential regions targeted by China, which shares over 1,800 kilometers of border with it, is Central Asia. This geographical proximity has fostered economic, political, and even cultural links between China and the countries of this region. The historical Silk Road, which originated in China and extended through Central Asia and Iran towards Europe, has strengthened these connections. In this regard, Chinese elites also strive to showcase their soft power on the global stage and in the direction of defeating enemies by utilizing the country's traditional culture, values, and teachings, combined with modern culture.
The main objective of this research is to highlight China's development-oriented policies in the Central Asian region. The significance of this research lies in the fact that Central Asia is considered part of Iran's cultural sphere, and Iranian culture and art have a significant presence in this region. This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to answer the question of how the Chinese government employs soft power as a tool for its development ambitions in Central Asia. The article argues that by utilizing its soft power tools in cultural, political, and economic dimensions, the Chinese government influences the countries of the Central Asian region. However, it also faces challenges that hurt its soft power. This research examines the soft power of China, its capacities, tools, and challenges by addressing the concept of soft power and the Chinese government's utilization of it in Central Asia.
Based on this, the research is structured into three main sections. The first section provides an overview and theoretical framework of the research. The second section explores China's soft power in Central Asia, including the existing tools and capacities of the Chinese government in this domain. The third section discusses the challenges faced by the Chinese government in leveraging its soft power.
Considering that the main question of the research was how the Chinese government uses soft power as a tool for its expansionist ambitions in Central Asia, it is argued in this research that the Chinese government influences the countries of Central Asia through its soft power tools in cultural, political, and economic dimensions. However, it faces challenges such as the presence of regional and extra-regional powers (such as the United States, Russia, and India), Islamic fundamentalism, and cultural unattractiveness, which hurt its soft power. It can be concluded that China has been able to introduce itself as an influential variable in this region through its economic relations with Central Asian countries, both through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other frameworks. China has attempted to exert its influence on the development and progress of these countries by tying their economies to their own, creating consumer and transit markets, and utilizing the energy resources available in these countries. The Chinese government has placed economic tools as the foundation of its global and regional movements, particularly in Central Asia. In the cultural sphere, despite scholarships for students and the promotion of the Chinese language and Confucian culture, different perspectives, especially in neighboring countries, indicate that Russia and the United States have a relatively more desirable position in terms of China's soft power and influence. In the political sphere, there is authoritarianism in Central Asian countries, similar to China, but civil society and the general public in Central Asia do not find China's soft power politically appealing and prefer the liberal democracy model of the United States. Despite China's efforts to achieve its goals through initiatives such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Belt and Road Initiative, it faces challenges that have affected these initiatives. Russia considers Central Asia its domain and China's presence and influence in this region pass through Russia's channel. The United States identifies China as the biggest threat to its national security and seeks to have an influential presence in the region as an international player. Islamic fundamentalism (terrorism) is another challenge for China. The presence of Chinese semi-military forces in Syria in the form of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and their return to Central Asia and China, creating security crises, makes Central Asian countries a potential center of terrorism in the future. Overall, it can be stated that despite all the progress China has made in this region, the existence of these challenges has affected China's soft power.
Hossein Karimiafrd
Abstract
Modernization theorists believe that there is a direct relationship between economic and social development and the process of transition to democracy. According to modernization theories, economic development and industrialization lead to the transition to democracy. China has achieved economic development ...
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Modernization theorists believe that there is a direct relationship between economic and social development and the process of transition to democracy. According to modernization theories, economic development and industrialization lead to the transition to democracy. China has achieved economic development since 1978 and has had economic growth of more than 10% for consecutive years. However, according to the theory of modernization, this country has not gone through the transition to democracy and has become an exception. The aim of this article is to examine and explain the lack of transition to democracy in China according to modernization theories. The research question is: What factors have prevented China from entering the process of transition to democracy between 1978 and 2021? The hypothesis of this research trying to be proved with the analytical and explanatory methodology, is: Several factors have contributed to the lack of transition to democracy in China. But the most important of them are the coordination and cohesion between the ruling class (Chinese Communist Party, government and army), the weakness of civil society, the fragmentation and dependence of the middle class, the basis and values of Chinese society and the fear of disarray. Social and political stability in the most populous country in the world with most groups, different classes of society and some countries. The combination of these factors has led to the support of the authoritarian system and their unwillingness to enter the process of transition to democracy between 1978 and 2021.
Farzin Rahimi Zonouz; Shahrouz Shariati
Abstract
China's government has started the process of economic liberalization since the late 1970s with its own unique pattern. In less than half a century, China economy has gained significant growth. The liberalization also has gradually eliminated poverty in China significantly and has improved the quality ...
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China's government has started the process of economic liberalization since the late 1970s with its own unique pattern. In less than half a century, China economy has gained significant growth. The liberalization also has gradually eliminated poverty in China significantly and has improved the quality of Chinese citizens' lives. This paper examines the impact of policies based on economic liberalization model in the Chinese government and seeks to study the relationship between economic liberalization and national security in China through a policy-driven research process. This article, examines some of the most influential economic, political, military, and environmental indicators of the Chinese government over the past few decades. From this point of view, as this article shows for the past half century, with the exception of the "environmental and climatic security", China Government has been able to improve and stabilize other Chinese national security indicators. The paper also emphasizes that the Chinese model can be replicated by less developed countries.
Fariborz Aarghavani; Fatemeh Forootan
Abstract
The article’s aim is to study the intellectual bases of formation and continuity of authoritarian state in China. The main question is why china’s political society up to now has helped to form and to continue authoritarian state in this country, while many of the other countries has experienced ...
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The article’s aim is to study the intellectual bases of formation and continuity of authoritarian state in China. The main question is why china’s political society up to now has helped to form and to continue authoritarian state in this country, while many of the other countries has experienced some forms of democracy. This article, to answer the question, by presupposing some factors such as vast territory, agricultural economy and foreign invasion argues that the study of china’s intellectual bases and political thought in three era, ancient- middle and contemporary, shows us that the tradition of authoritarian state in china is deep and it is due to intellectual bases. In other words, political and intellectual thought in various ages has helped to create and reinforce authoritarian state in china. Strong influence of political thought in ancient era, middle era on china’s political action and continuity of Confucius’s tradition and communism are some of the main aspects and factors of the problem. Study of more important political thought about state nature, discussion on some aspects of powerful and authoritarian state in china and introducing china’s political thought in various eras that encourage state power are the main section of the article.
