The Puzzle of Chinese Assertiveness

Abstract

The notion of an ‘assertive’ China has been widely discussed, yet there is no consensus about what comprises the assertive behaviour of China and why China (allegedly) started to behave assertively. Some claim that the idea of China’s assertiveness was exaggerated, although most agree that China has become more assertive in the disputed maritime regions. In terms of explanations, most of the accents have been put on the changing distribution of power, domestic factors in China, and external factors. All the previous work and relevant findings notwithstanding, there are important missing links in our understanding of the Chinese assertiveness which invite further research. This book is going to scrutinize the events of China’s alleged assertiveness and test three hypotheses of what is believed to be behind the Chinese assertiveness from the perspective of Chinese foreign policy. The thesis of the changing distribution of power in the region can be seen as the most often presented explanation of the Chinese assertive behaviour, and hence most of the emphasis throughout the book will be put on this theory. A comprehensive analysis of China’s power will be conducted on various levels, and the findings will be linked to the power sources used during the assertive events. Subsequently, after showing that the main hypothesis cannot explain the Chinese assertiveness by itself, the validity of alternative hypotheses dealing with the domestic politics and the influence of the external environment will be tested. It will be argued eventually that China’s growing power was a necessary, but not a satisfactory explanatory variable of the assertive events. In almost all instances of its assertive behaviour, China reacted to new actions of other actors. The book therefore subscribes to the claim that the Chinese behaviour in the South China Sea could be described as a ‘reactive assertiveness’.