Politics of memory for a New Era? Mainland Chinese historical memory, nationalism, and their impact on Chinese international behaviour

Abstract

Overall, the subject has remained relatively understudied. In this context, this paper presents a broader picture of the importance of the topic as such. It does not attempt to present a complete picture of the role of historical memory in Chinese foreign policy. Instead, it identifies the main points of reference that should be treated as the invitation for further research. It also highlights certain new developments that might suggest what to expecct in the future. However, from the perspective of international politics, scientists have been somehow reluctant to study the impact of historical memory on states’ behaviour. In the academic world of IR, dominated by realism, immeasurable factors like identity or culture, have been considered largely insignificant in shaping international politics. If one defines power as one state’s ability to control a given sphere either militarily or economically, intangible factors somehow “naturally” get sidelined. Nevertheless, given the worldwide resurgence of nationalism as a political force shaping international relations and the impossibility of explaining it with purely realist means, some observers have turned towards a re-examination of alternative or subsidiary explanations of factors influencing states’ international behaviour.