Affiliation:
1. Department of Politics and Society, Aalborg University, Denmark
2. Center for Minerals and Materials (MiMa), Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Denmark
Abstract
Research confirms that China is becoming more engaged in the Arctic. However, international relations scholarship often extrapolates from relatively few instances of activity to wide-ranging claims about Chinese priorities. Fortunately, Chinese political discourse is organised by labels that allow us to study how the Arctic is classified and ranked along China’s other foreign policy priorities. This article analyses two such classifications – “important maritime interest” and “strategic new frontier,” exploring how they have come about, what they mean, and how they add political priority to the Arctic. It argues that hierarchies are constructed in two ways: by adding gradients and by including/excluding in categories of priority. It views categories as performative: they not only convey information about character and relative importance of interests but are also used for achieving different objectives. By focusing on foreign policy classifications, the article contributes to a more nuanced and precise understanding of China’s Arctic interests.
Funder
Innovationsfonden
Fonden Erik Hoffmeyers Rejselegat
Subject
General Economics, Econometrics and Finance,Political Science and International Relations,Sociology and Political Science
Cited by
6 articles.
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