Papers by Dingding Chen
International Studies Quarterly, 2016
International Security, 2014
In “How New and Assertive Is China’s New Assertiveness?” Iain Johnston argues that China’s recent... more In “How New and Assertive Is China’s New Assertiveness?” Iain Johnston argues that China’s recent foreign policy is not as assertive as many scholars and pundits contend. Johnston’s study is a welcome addition to the literature on Chinese foreign policy in three respects.1 First, it is the most comprehensive study by a leading China scholar on China’s new assertiveness. Second, it challenges the conventional understanding that this assertiveness is both unprecedented and aggressive by design. Third, it addresses potential problems of overestimating the threat from China. In this letter, we argue that Johnston’s deanition of assertiveness is too narrow. In addition, he underestimates the signiacance of China’s new assertiveness in foreign policy more broadly.2
Conflict Management and Peace Science, 2020
Does the public in authoritarian regimes disapprove of their leaders’ backing down from public th... more Does the public in authoritarian regimes disapprove of their leaders’ backing down from public threats and commitments? Answers to this question provide a critical micro-foundation for the emerging scholarship on authoritarian audience costs. We investigate this question by implementing a series of survey experiments in China, a single-party authoritarian state. Findings based on responses from 5375 Chinese adults show that empty threats and commitments expose the Chinese government to substantial disapproval from citizens concerned about potential damage to China’s international reputation. Additional qualitative evidence reveals that Chinese citizens are willing to express their discontent of leaders’ foreign policy blunders through various channels. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate over whether and how domestic audiences can make commitments credible in authoritarian states.
Many observers see mutual distrust as a major reason for increasing tensions in East Asia, but fe... more Many observers see mutual distrust as a major reason for increasing tensions in East Asia, but few studies systematically explore exactly how trust, or the lack of it, influences international cooperation in the region. We examine the microfoundations of international trust in East Asia by analyzing an original survey of Chinese urban residents' attitudes toward Japan and South Korea. We find that generalized trust, or the belief that other nations have benign intentions, provides the most important driving force of trust toward Japan and South Korea. This, in turn, has a positive effect on preferences for interstate cooperation. We also find that, contrary to conventional wisdom, nationalism and historical memory have little or no effect on international trust. Our analysis enhances our broader understanding of international trust by clarifying its sources and consequences. It also suggests some important policy implications for Sino–Japanese relations and Chinese foreign policy.
Does the experience of living in the United States lead Chinese people to believe that China shou... more Does the experience of living in the United States lead Chinese people to believe that China should pursue democracy? Our study produced mixed results, as we found that overseas study resulted in significant attitude changes by various means. Education in social sciences and consumption of foreign media were both associated with supportive attitudes toward democracy, and also led respondents to believe that Western liberal democracy is a good thing and to push for it. Conversely, living overseas had a negative effect on respondents’ support for Chinese democratization, as the longer they had lived in the United States, the better they understood Western democracy and were suspicious about whether China should pursue immediate democratization. Meanwhile, we also find Chinese media has a negative impact on public support for democracy, both instrumental and intrinsic. Finally, factors associated with attitudes toward democracy, such as traditional values, self-expression values, and perceived performance of the Chinese government, were also significant.
How do Chinese scholars and students residing in the United States view the United States? This s... more How do Chinese scholars and students residing in the United States view the United States? This study tries to answer this question using a unique dataset from the United States. It also seeks to identify the determinants of Chinese migrants' attitudes towards the United States, especially with regard to overseas socialization. On the whole, the results indicate that Chinese scholars and students in the United States have a mostly favourable attitude towards America and remain positive towards China. Their values, overseas experience, and other factors have important influences on their feelings towards the United States. We find that most respondents have a positive attitude towards the United States, as regards both its general national image and diverse images, including political institutions, the economy, and the environment. We also find that this group of Chinese respondents maintains a strong attachment to China and has a conservative attitude towards China's future growth. Our results suggest that values such as nationalism and ethnocentrism have significant influence on individuals' feelings towards the United States.
A series of moves in China's foreign policies since the global financial crisis in 2008 seems to ... more A series of moves in China's foreign policies since the global financial crisis in 2008 seems to suggest that China is now more confident than ever in its external behaviour. Indeed, some Western observers argue that China's new confidence even borders on arrogance. Domestically, there is an emerging debate over the famous "tao guang yang hui" (TGYH) strategy. Is China beginning to behave in an arrogant way? Will China change the TGYH strategy? This article documents the evolution of the TGYH strategy and explains why there is an emerging interest in it today. It argues that the TGYH strategy will be continued as a national strategy, though some modifications to it will be highly likely in coming years.
This article seeks to explain both China's motivations in, and South Korea's response to, the Kog... more This article seeks to explain both China's motivations in, and South Korea's response to, the Koguryo controversy. It argues that it is necessary to take into account the role of national identity and domestic politics in explaining the controversy. China's claim is neither defensive nor offensive toward the two Koreas; rather, it is a logical consequence of a particular historiography in China that was developed in the twentieth century. Given the centrality of national identity construction in both countries, the conflict over Koguryo will be difficult to resolve in the future. To prevent future conflicts from reoccurring, both sides need to adopt a new perspective on history to move toward a shared history and cultural community.
This article challenges the conventional view of China's human-rights policy by carefully tracing... more This article challenges the conventional view of China's human-rights policy by carefully tracing the development of human rights discourse in China since 1978. While agreeing that external pressure does play an important role in shaping China's human-rights discourse and policy, the article finds that the changes in Chinese discourse cannot adequately be explained by external factors such as Western criticisms, particularly since 1989.
China has expanded its participation in the international human rights regime over the past 30 ye... more China has expanded its participation in the international human rights regime over the past 30 years, having signed important international treaties and interacted with various international human rights institutions. It is a development that raises the questions, what are China's motivations? How are China's patterns of human rights participation explainable? Is there a link between China's foreign policy and human rights foreign policy?
A series of moves in China's foreign policies since the global financial crisis in 2008 seems to ... more A series of moves in China's foreign policies since the global financial crisis in 2008 seems to suggest that China is now more confident than ever in its external behaviour. Indeed, some Western observers argue that China's new confidence even borders on arrogance. Domestically, there is an emerging debate over the famous" tao guang yang hui"(TGYH) strategy. Is China beginning to behave in an arrogant way? Will China change the TGYH strategy?
Behind the political stagnation on the surface, signs abound that a fundamental political transfo... more Behind the political stagnation on the surface, signs abound that a fundamental political transformation is taking place in China. In the fall of 2011, an unusually large group of independent citizens launched very vocal campaigns to compete for seats in various local congresses. Around the same time, groups of “netizens” went to a small village in Shandong province to try to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human right activist under house arrest, despite repeated reports about visitors being beaten.
Journal Articles by Dingding Chen
International Studies Quarterly, 2016
Although distrust has often been cited as a major reason for growing tensions in East Asia, few s... more Although distrust has often been cited as a major reason for growing tensions in East Asia, few studies have systematically explored exactly how trust, or the lack of it, influences international cooperation in the region. In this study, we examine the sources and consequences of international trust in East Asia by analyzing an original survey of Chinese urban residents’ attitudes toward Japan and South Korea. We find that generalized trust, the belief that other nations have benign intentions, is the most crucial driving force of trust toward Japan and South Korea, which in turn has a positive effect on preferences for interstate cooperation. We also find that, contrary to conventional wisdom, nationalism and historical memory have little or no effect on international trust. These results enhance our understanding of international trust in general and its dynamics in East Asia in particular, and lead us to offer some important policy implications for Sino-Japanese relations and Chinese foreign policy.
Uploads
Papers by Dingding Chen
Journal Articles by Dingding Chen