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| Project Details |
| Funding Scheme : | Early Career Scheme | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Number : | 24603119 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Title(English) : | The Development and Influence of Chinese Theories of Sovereignty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Title(Chinese) : | 中國主權觀的發展與影響 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investigator(English) : | Prof Mitchell, Ryan James | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investigator(Chinese) : | 穆秋瑞 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Department : | Faculty of Law | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Institution : | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E-mail Address : | ryan.mitchell@cuhk.edu.hk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Co - Investigator(s) : |
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| Panel : | Humanities, Social Sciences | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subject Area : | Social and Behavioural Sciences | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise Year : | 2019 / 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fund Approved : | 592,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Status : | Completed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Completion Date : | 31-8-2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Objectives : |
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| Abstract as per original application (English/Chinese): |
Today, China occupies a position of ever-increasing importance in the global economy, transnational policy, and international institutions. As a result, there is lively debate in academic and political circles as to whether China will prove to be a “status quo” power, which endorses the existing international system, or a “revisionist” one, which seeks to transform that system. However, existing discourse tends to focus solely on China’s experience and behavior in the course of its economic rise following the start of the “Reform and Opening-Up” era in 1979. This is particularly true in the case of the relatively few works analyzing China’s relationship with public international law, which often portray it as a kind of recent newcomer (and potential disruptor) to a preexisting Western international legal system.
This project challenges that prevailing model, proposing instead that a longer view of the international legal system, and the global governance networks in which it is embedded, reveals that China has long exercised extensive theoretical and practical influence on their development. More specifically, it uses analysis of legal documents, diplomatic communications, and archival sources to clarify: 1) how different conceptions of sovereignty have historically developed in China, and how these have exerted impact on its domestic and international legal activities; 2) how China’s theorization and practice of sovereign power have affected the key transformations of modern positive international law from the early 17th century through today; and 3) the ways that China’s unique international role has historically contributed to the development of specific concepts such as border sovereignty, substantive obligations in international treaties, individual responsibility in international criminal law, and ethnic self-determination.
As the project will show, China’s history of diplomatic and legal engagement with outside states features many existing and potential contributions to the understanding of state sovereignty and international order. China’s influence today, via its multilateral initiatives such as the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, Asian International Investment Bank (AIIB), and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), similarly carry broader implications for the role of sovereign states in an interconnected world. Rather than a “newcomer” to public international law, China is best seen as a longtime active participant in the latter’s historical development and current operation. This carries implications not only for how China’s international role can be better understood, but also for developing a more nuanced theoretical account of “international law” itself, as an inherently multipolar system based on pluralistic influences.
今天的中國在全球經濟，全球治理，和國際組織等領域都處在一個越來越重要的地位。這一趨勢引起了許多學者的討論：中國是否將偏向於“保持常態”的國際角色，還是要“修整”已經存在的國際制度。不過這些討論大多數都是默認的把中國視為1979年以來以西方為中心的國際法制度的“新會員國。” 這項研究項目將試圖以更廣闊的歷史視角來證明中國早就對現有的國際公法理論與實踐的發展起到了重要的影響。主要通過法律文件，外交通訊等現存的歷史文獻進行研究，這個研究項目旨在研究：1）中國歷來對主權概念的不同了解和表現形式，以及其對其法律體系和對外關係的影響；2）中國所提倡的主權概念與現代的實在國際法的互相影響與演變過程 ；3）中國獨特的國際角色與歷史是怎麼對現有的國際公法概念，包括邊界主權，國際條約所規定的國家責任，國際刑事法的個人責任，民族自決等規範起了重要的影響。 中國與外國的外交與法律方面的交流歷史可以讓我們對今天的國家主權與國際制度有更深的了解。中國最近以來的國際影響，比如說一帶一路，亞投行，区域全面经济伙伴关系協定，上海合作组织等多邊的交流與合作平台也可以被看作是中國對其主權與國際公法歷史的繼承表現。最好不應該把中國看成一個國際公法的“新會員國，”而應該視其為現有國際公法的建立國家之一。按照這個歷史發展的視角，對中國在國際公法中扮演的角色的認識以及對國際公法本身的理論建構的了解都將有所改變。尤其是中國的國際公法史可以表明國際公法本身不應該脫離其多邊主義與多元化的思想根基。 |
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| Realisation of objectives: | This project successfully accomplished the five listed objectives that were noted by the PI as the goals of the research to be conducted. The following summary is intended to indicate the ways in which the research project, as well as the resulting publications, realised the primary aims that the PI set out to achieve. First, with regards to the objective of "provid[ing] the first comprehensive analysis of Chinese conceptions of sovereignty and international order in comparison with the primary Western theoretical models", this project did indeed carry out a comprehensive comparison of Chinese discourses of sovereignty and how these were informed by, and at times diverged from, those prevalent in the West. The PI's archival research in Qing Dynasty and Republican Era archival materials, especially those of the Zongli Yamen (the Qing foreign affairs ministry), were invaluable in turning up new discourses of the concept of sovereignty and its ramifications that had been hitherto unexplored in scholarly literature. These discussions of sovereignty, such as those by leading Qing officials of the Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu Emperors' respective courts, were often highly illuminating with respect to Chinese incorporation of the Western lexicon of state sovereignty during important historical episodes. Especially illuminating in this regard were findings regarding the way in which aspects of imperial China's state system, such as the acceptability of dispersed management of state personnel with regards to some border issues, differed from Western understandings of the unitary authority of the sovereign state. The process by which such understandings shifted over time were explored in detail in the publications resulting from this project, especially the monograph "Recentering the World: China and the Transformation of International Law" as well as the Asian Journal of International Law article "China’s Participation in the Second Hague Conference and the Concept of Equal Sovereignty in International Law." Later, Chinese views on the importance of state sovereignty converged much more closely with those of Western states, however even during these periods (e.g., during the interwar era and during and after the Second World War) Chinese officials and scholars tended to have different focuses and understandings of issues of sovereignty, often being especially concerned with the imposition of limitations on the use of force as well as the legalisation of interstate relations through the mediation of international courts and arbitration. These factors were also thoroughly explored in the research project and featured in the resulting publications. Meanwhile, more recent divergences such as the Chinese focus on promoting a more state-centric conception of human rights, as opposed to one emphasising individual civil and political rights, were also explored in the course of the research project and reflected in the resulting publication in the American University International Law Review article "The Emerging Chinese Doctrine of Statist Human Rights." Second, the research project effectively "made use of historical legal documents and archival materials to demonstrate the significant role that Chinese thought and practice played in the history of international law." It accomplished this objective through the PI and research staff's thorough exploration of archives including those of various Chinese foreign ministries and related bodies, as well as a great degree of archival and database materials regarding legal interactions such as the important treaty-negotiation conferences in which the Qing Dynasty, Republic of China, and People's Republic of China were involved. The conclusions reached upon the basis of this research, meanwhile, did indeed relate not only to Chinese views and positions on sovereignty and international law, but also to the impacts that these views and interactions had upon the practice of other states as well as shifts in international norms. While not attempting to make an excessively bold claim that Chinese influences were primarily responsible for shaping international legal norms or institutions that had global origins, this project did reveal important aspects of Chinese influence that had previously been unknown or underemphasised. The role of Chinese lawyers and diplomats in proposing limitations on the use of force during the League of Nations era, for example, was a particularly important topic in the research conducted, and the PI's conclusion that Chinese figures were among the pioneers in this regard with respect to the global international law profession was a significant one. Third, and relatedly, the PI effectively helped to "further the theoretical understanding of sovereignty as a transcultural phenomenon, rather than one whose intellectual content is derived solely from Western influences." The research project was ideally geared towards achieving this aim because its inherent focus was the reception of and impact upon sovereignty of China, a major non-Western state. However, the PI also proactively sought to ensure that the topic of diverse and non-Western intellectual influences upon the development of international law, including as well as going beyond China itself, was also addressed at various points while conducting the research and publishing its results. Thus, for example, the author devoted considerable time to exploring discussions of sovereignty and international law not only in China or by Chinese individuals, but also among China's Global South partners in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Aspects of these findings were introduced into the resulting publications in order to help contextualise Chinese contributions and to put the "China - West" relationship into a more globalised and detailed frame of analysis. Fourth, the project did result in "providing the first ever translations into English of [some] key Chinese primary sources embodying historical and current discourse trends regarding state sovereignty." Naturally, many important primary sources regarding these issues have already previously been translated, anthologised, or otherwise made available in English. However, the PI identified a number of key materials, often in highly bureaucratic Classical Chinese or other relatively challenging written styles, that had never previously been translated into English but were highly relevant to the research project. Many excerpts of such sources, and a few in their entirety (such as the important 1871 Okubo Memorandum regarding Sino-Japanese confrontations over the law of territorial sovereignty) were newly translated into English by the PI, making them available as resources for future scholarly research conducted in English. Fifth, the research project did result in a "book-length report specifically regarding Chinese conceptions of sovereignty and international order, to serve as a useful academic reference for others working in this area and related fields." The resulting publication "Recentering the World: China and the Transformation of International Law", published by Cambridge University Press, is an original monograph-length scholarly exploration of the above themes that focuses, to a greater degree than any other academic monograph published in English to date, on explicating the relationship between Chinese conceptions of sovereignty, international law, and international order, and on the ways that such conceptions have impacted global developments with respect to these concepts. It contrasts with other works to date that have been more specifically focused on historical accounts of the Chinese state or, when focusing on the intellectual history of sovereignty and/or international law, have not paired this with a sustained analysis of Chinese participation in and interactions with international organisations or specific norms of positive international law. The monograph thus has made a highly unique contribution that spans the disciplines of international law doctrine, legal history, and modern Chinese history. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary of objectives addressed: |
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| Research Outcome | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major findings and research outcome: | The major findings of the research conducted include the identification of a number of important legal scholars and academics in China from the period of 1850-2000, especially the early part of this range, whose contributions to modern Chinese conceptions of sovereignty and international law were previously unknown or poorly understood. In addition, the research involved the identification and investigation of new materials in important diplomatic archives and other sources with relevant information about the history of international legal thought and practice in China. A particular focus was the exploration of the diplomatic archives of multiple states with regards to Chinese participation in and contributions to major, sovereignty-limiting international law conferences such as The Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907, as well as the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and the San Francisco Conference that led to the founding of the United Nations. Each of these episodes, as well as several others of similar importance, was developed on the basis of the above-mentioned newly-identified primary sources into a detailed historical account, which sheds new light on the importance of the diplomatic/legal interactions in question, their impacts upon the development of core international norms and institutions, and especially their relationship with concepts of state sovereignty. Particularly significant was the identification of the contributions of particular legal scholars and diplomats, such as the longtime Chinese representative to the League of Nations Zhou Wei, who have been largely left out of many subsequent historical narratives in both English and Chinese. These more obscure individuals are, for the first time, developed into major figures in modern Chinese legal history in my book Recentering the World: China and the Transformation of International Law (which resulted from this project). Meanwhile, much more well-known figures such as Wellington Koo, W.A.P. Martin, or Wang Chonghui, about whom extensive historical material already exists, are also explored in new detail in this book, with major contributions such as Wang's role in the planning of the International Court of Justice, for example, being put in connection with his earlier experiences as a lawyer and diplomat during the League of Nations era. Given the fundamental importance of legal concepts such as human rights and the equality of states to the concept of sovereignty, these issues and the exploration of their connection with shifting Chinese views on sovereignty were the focus of additional article publications that arose out of the project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Potential for further development of the research and the proposed course of action: |
This research might be further developed in the future through several pathways, including via additional studies of historical episodes in which Chinese views on sovereignty impacted directly upon either official or public reactions to major issues in international law and relations. Such episodes, some of which were not fully explored in the course of this research project, include Chinese interactions with Western states with respect to the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Suez Crisis, and other important Cold War episodes during which official Chinese state representatives as well as lawyers and academics in civil society made written and spoken contributions to public discourse, domestically and internationally. While the overall picture of how sovereignty was conceptualised during the early to mid Cold War period was conveyed through the study conducted in the course of this research project, many further nuances might be profitably explored, such as the ways in which doctrines on the use of force (i.e., interventions against sovereignty understood as territorial integrity) were highly malleable during the periods of the Sino-Soviet split in international relations. Additional archival resources, in China and in other jurisdictions (especially regionally), might help to shed more light upon such issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Layman's Summary of Completion Report: | This research project helped to develop a new, more detailed understanding of how Chinese officials, lawyers, and citizens came to think of their country as a "sovereign state", and how they envisioned and interacted with a world order established upon the basis of state sovereignty. It relied on the exploration of sources including diplomatic archives, other government ministry records, archival holdings of international organisations, biographical materials, as well as periodicals and scholarly publications, all of which contained significant information regarding individuals' and organisations' claims about the concept of sovereignty and the authority of the sovereign Chinese state during various historical episodes. The long-term value of the research project lies primarily in making possible more nuanced conversations and analysis regarding China's positions on issues of sovereignty and international law. Sovereign rights are among the most important topics within the field of international legal discourse, as they are often treated as defining the limitations of the application of international norms. In many legal and diplomatic interactions, sovereignty comes into play, often as a concept that is being invoked by both sides of a disagreement. This project helps to clarify how some such debates have their origins in a long historical process. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research Output | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peer-reviewed journal publication(s) arising directly from this research project : (* denotes the corresponding author) |
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| Recognized international conference(s) in which paper(s) related to this research project was/were delivered : |
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| Other impact (e.g. award of patents or prizes, collaboration with other research institutions, technology transfer, etc.): |
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| Realisation of the education plan: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SCREEN ID: SCRRM00542 |