Global South solidarity? China, regional organisations and intervention in the Libyan and Syrian civil wars

Fung, Courtney J.

doi:10.1080/01436597.2015.1078230

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…By the end of February 2011, diplomatic pressure continued to build on Libya, and the predominant view was that diplomatic measures alone would be insufficient to prevent a massive loss of life (UN General Assembly, 2011). Regional groups unanimously condemned Gaddafi’s use of force against civilians, paving the way for UN Security Council action (Fung, 2016a). China cast a yes votes for Resolution 1970, referring the Libya country case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) (UN Security Council, 2011b), which led to an indictment against Gaddafi.…”

Section: Case Study Of China’s Engagement With the Responsibility To mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Norm entrepreneurs, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, purposely used China’s normative adaptations to negotiate with China regarding Resolution 1973, reminding Chinese counterparts that it was China that had pushed for these additions under the responsibility to protect, and that this was the opportunity to support robust action based upon China’s own reading of the norm (interviews: New York, 11 June 2013). Although Chinese officials experienced dissonance with China’s self-proclaimed conservative pragmatism regarding mass human rights challenges, China acquiesced to the ICC referral and no-fly zone (Fung, 2016a).…”

Section: Case Study Of China’s Engagement With the Responsibility To mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the existing literature emphasizes the dominance of Western states in engineering the UN Security Council’s response to the Libya crisis (Adler-Nissen and Pouliot, 2014; Dunne and Gifkins, 2011; Glanville, 2016; Vaughn and Dunne, 2015). I offer a contrasting view that emphasizes China’s contributions in shaping the path to UN Security Council outcomes, in part due to China’s use of rhetorical adaptation (see Fung, 2016a, 2019). The analysis then turns to separate the effects of China’s rhetorical adaptation, analyzing China’s unanticipated outcomes such that its traditional sovereignty normative advancements still paved the way for Libyan regime change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rhetorical adaptation, normative resistance and international order-making: China’s advancement of the responsibility to protect

Fung¹

2019

Cooperation and Conflict

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How do rising powers execute normative resistance to shape international order? Contrary to the existing literature, I argue that rising powers are productive agents of normative change and international order-making, through the use of rhetorical adaptation to contest pre-existing orders. Rhetorical adaptation is a strategy and set of tactics that simultaneously modifies norm content, while reducing critiques of obstructionism. To make this argument, this article traces China’s efforts as a ‘norm shaper’ regarding the responsibility to protect through the inception, institutionalization and implementation of the norm in the landmark 2011 Libya intervention. China layers traditional sovereignty norms under the responsibility to protect, focusing and narrowing the emerging norm by fortifying the primacy of the state. While I show how China resists co-option into an evolving ontological order that challenges traditional sovereignty, the article also addresses the unforeseen consequences of China’s normative efforts that ‘backfired’ to permit the use of the responsibility to protect to justify Libyan regime change. More broadly, this article speaks to rising powers as agents crafting international order, and the process of normative resistance that occurs throughout the norm life cycle. I draw from publicly available documents and semi-structured interviews with Chinese foreign policy and United Nations elites.

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Section: Case Study Of China’s Engagement With the Responsibility To mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Case Study Of China’s Engagement With the Responsibility To mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rhetorical adaptation, normative resistance and international order-making: China’s advancement of the responsibility to protect

Fung¹

2019

Cooperation and Conflict

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“…2For a treatment of why China voted the way it did in the Syria crisis, which is beyond the scope of this article, see Fung 2016c.…”

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confidence: 99%

Separating Intervention from Regime Change: China's Diplomatic Innovations at the UN Security Council Regarding the Syria Crisis

Fung

2018

The China Quarterly

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China's response to the recent Syria crisis at the UN Security Council represents a crucial case in China's approach to intervention in that it breaks from China's recent practice of becoming more permissive regarding intervention. Instead, China actively worked to ensure that a firm line was drawn to separate intervention from foreign-imposed regime change. It did so by employing three diplomatic innovations: exercising multiple, successive vetoes; expanding discourse to delegitimize intervention as “regime change” by Western powers; and engaging in norm-shaping of the international community's “responsibility to protect” post-intervention. Together, these three innovations highlight China's desire to firmly separate the intervention norm from that of regime change. Using a variety of primary sources, the article also draws insights from interviews with foreign policy elites in Beijing, New York and New Delhi.

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“…Courtney Fung describes the League of Arab States' (LAS) role in China's voting decisions regarding Libya as 'crucial', as well as referring to Gadaffi's speech which referenced China's response to the Tiananmen Square protests as a legitimising precedent for backlash in Libya. 238 However, in the case of Syria, the LAS lacked any cohesion, demonstrating no moral of practical guidance, and providing no consensus on good behaviour, China thus dismissed the LAS as a guide in the Syrian crisis. 239 China has sent humanitarian aid to Syria, with reports ranging from US$16 million worth of aid, 240 to US$29 million, 241 out of a reported total humanitarian assistance of US$3 billion.…”

Section: The Russian Federation's Proposals On the Non-acceptability Of Military Intervention Among Others Had Not Been Taken Into Accounmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identity through foreign policy: Russia and China in the Middle East

Slocombe¹

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<p>Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.</p>

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Global South solidarity? China, regional organisations and intervention in the Libyan and Syrian civil wars

Cited by 13 publications

References 22 publications

Rhetorical adaptation, normative resistance and international order-making: China’s advancement of the responsibility to protect

Rhetorical adaptation, normative resistance and international order-making: China’s advancement of the responsibility to protect

Separating Intervention from Regime Change: China's Diplomatic Innovations at the UN Security Council Regarding the Syria Crisis

Identity through foreign policy: Russia and China in the Middle East

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