This thesis introduces a " new " international relations theorist who is also, in fact, one of the oldest of international relations theorists. Mencius (Meng Zi 371-289 BCE) is well known to students of Chinese culture as a key figure in the history of Confucianism and in the history of China: the second sage no less. Yet modern scholars usually study him, if he is studied at all, for an idea of how " Chinese" think rather than as a thinker worth studying for his own sake. I decided to study Mencius as an international relations theorist in response to the common criticism that international relations, the academic discipline, is too "e; eurocentric". This criticism has been made many times. My goal however was not to repeat the criticism but to find a major thinker outside the euro-centric world. Such a thinker could be presented as an international relations theorist and thus demonstrate that we should indeed heed the critics of euro-centrism and make studies outside the euro-centric framework rather than simply announce that international relations is euro-centric and proceed to make another euro-centric study. This study of Mencius, qua international relations theorist, illustrates that point. Mencius lived in a world of warring states and tried to bring peace and order to that world. In the course of doing so he developed a sophisticated international relations theory which can be used to analyse events in the contemporary world. In this thesis I offer a comparison of Mencius and Kenneth N Waltz, a famous contemporary international relations theorist, to show the strength of Mencius theory. Mencius argues that an anarchical system of states can become an ordered one if the order is legitimised by what he calls " benevolence" , an ethic based on universal values. Waltz argues that values can never underpin an order that runs contrary to states interests. Once an anarchical international system has commenced balance of power formations will rise to stop it moving towards order. The disagreement between Mencius and Waltz is profound; it is not simply about the patterns of international relations ii systems but whether a policy of reform based on values can succeed in the international arena. Waltz, and the vast majority of international relations theorists, answer that question in the negative. This " ruling out" of progress distinguishes the study of international politics from the study of domestic politics. Mencius does not rule it out; he offers hope for progress and reform in the international arena. Thus the attempt to address one problem, euro-centrism, led me to approach the greatest problem, the denial of a role for values in the international world. The thesis sets out to show that Mencius international relations theory has greater explanatory power than the theory of Waltz, the arch positivist. The thesis also seeks to demonstrate that it is a mistake to rule values out of international politics.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/220770 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Storey, Lyndon, Storey, Lyndon |
| Publisher | University of Sydney. Discipline of Government and International Relations |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English, en_AU |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Storey, Lyndon;http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/copyright.html |
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