Party-state Realism: A Framework for Understanding China’s Approach to Foreign Policy

Tsang, Steve

Abstract

The author puts forth an analytical framework called party-state realism for understanding how policy makers in the People’s Republic of China approach foreign policy. It has four defining characteristics. In order of importance, they are: putting the interests of the Communist Party at the core of China’s national interest calculation; and on this basis adopting an instrumentalist approach; adopting a party-centric nationalism; and adhering to a neoclassical realist assessment of the country’s place in the international system and its relative material power in advancing national interest. In this conception, the putting of the Chinese Communist Party’s interest at the core of national interest is a constant, not a variable, factor. This does not mean the changing international context and relative national power are irrelevant, just that they take secondary importance.

Citation

Tsang, S. (2020). Party-state Realism: A Framework for Understanding China’s Approach to Foreign Policy. Journal of Contemporary China, 29(122), 304-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2019.1637562

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 8, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 7, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Aug 15, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 15, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary China
• Print ISSN: 1067-0564
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9400
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 122
• Pages: 304-318
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2019.1637562