Saving National IR from Exceptionalism: The Dialogic Spirit and Self-Reflection in Chinese IR Theory

Abstract

Abstract This study proposes an analytical framework for explaining how national IR (international relations) can keep exceptionalism at bay and join global IR in promoting common understanding. Building on the premise that dialogue is key to bridging the self–other divide, it stresses that self-reflection lies at the heart of a true “dialogic spirit,” which urges the self to recognize its own shortcomings by learning from the other's point of view. By embracing the dialogic spirit and self-reflection, therefore, national IR can distance itself from exceptionalist claims that the “national self” is intrinsically superior to others and so its preferences and interests must outweigh those of the latter. Applying this framework to the nascent Chinese IR theory, this study finds that its leading exponents do try to avoid identifying with such exceptionalist claims, though the complications of their work further illustrate the promise and difficulty of self-reflection in the shadow of rising power.