The Philosophical System of the All-Under-Heaven in the World Discourse of Geopolitical Science
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
Abstract
In modern geopolitical science, attempts to systematically explain the establishment of a new world order, carried out by researchers from China as a country that not only claims economic world hegemony, but also offers a new model of international relations, attract increasing attention. Using the example of a comparative analysis of the Chinese philosophical model of systemic globalization with leading Western systemic models of globalization, a reconstruction of the world discourse of geopolitical science has been carried out. Currently, the world is not only experiencing economic, political, or military competition between leading geopolitical players – we are talking about a world discourse on the most successful systemic conceptualization of international relations. The purpose of this paper consists in an attempt to compare the Chinese version of the All-Under-Heaven system with leading Western versions of the systemic approach in geopolitics – neoliberalism, conservatism, and social systems theory. Zhao Tingyang’s concept of the All-Under-Heaven system is chosen as one of the most recognized in modern Chinese philosophy of globalization. The concept of trust as a social virtue and the theory of the end of history, created by Francis Fukuyama, presents a neoliberal model of globalization. Immanuel Wallerstein’s world-system theory is considered to be a critical attempt to conceptualize a conservative model of globalization. Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory presents a functional approach to explaining globalization as a special way of ensuring social communication. The strengths and weaknesses of Western systemic models of globalization are identified, as well as the prospects for the development of the concept of the All-Under-Heaven system in the direction of conceptual rapprochement with Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory. The prospects for the modern understanding of the traditional Confucian idea of the All-Under-Heaven are outlined.
How to Cite
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
philosophical system of the All-Under-Heaven; modern Chinese philosophy; international relations; systemic models of globalization; neoliberalism; world-system theory; social systems theory
Byler D. (2022), In the camps: Life in China’s High-Tech Penal Colony, Atlantic Books.
Emery H. C. (1915), “What is Realpolitik?”, International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 448–468. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/intejethi.25.4.2376875
Fukuyama F. (1992), The End of History and the Last Man, Free Press, New York.
Fukuyama F. (1995), Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, Free Press, New York.
Hobova Ye. V. (2022), “Poiava i transformatsiia idei ‘totalnoi vesternizatsii’ Kytaiu”, Chinese Studies, No. 3, pp. 19–33. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.51198/chinesest2022.03.019
Kiktenko V. O. (2019), “ ‘Pidnebesna’ Chzhao TinIana: filosofskyi pohliad na svitovyi poriadok”, Chinese Studies, No. 1, pp. 11–19. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/chinesest2019.01.011
Korab-Karpowicz W. J. (2023), “Political Realism in International Relation”, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism-intl-relations/ (accessed April 23, 2025).
Kubalskyi O. and Boichenko M. (2024a), “The Culture of Scientific Work: Philosophy and Experience of the Republic of Korea”, Shìdnij svìt, No. 1, pp. 191–198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2024.01.191
Kubalskyi O. and Boichenko M. (2024b), “Philosophy and Culture of Scientific Work in Japan: Myths and Realities”, Shìdnij svìt, No. 2, pp. 144–152. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2024.02.144
Kymlicka W. (1995), Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Lee Min Goo (2014), “In What Ways Can Neo-liberalism Be Classified as Utopian Politics?”, in E-International Relations, Aug 25, available at: https://www.e-ir.info/2014/08/25/in-what-ways-can-neo-liberalism-be-classified-as-utopian-politics/ (accessed April 23, 2025).
Li Chenyang (2020), “Bring Back Harmony in Philosophical Discourse: a Confucian Perspective”, Journal of Dharma Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42240-019-00047-w
Li Chenyang (2022), “Chinese Philosophy as a World Philosophy”, Asian Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 39–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2022.10.3.39-58
Luhmann N. (1987), Social Systems: Outline of a General Theory, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main.
Morgenthau H. (1946), Politics among Nations. The Struggle for Power and Peace, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Prooi D. (2016), “The Public Sphere in China Beginnings of a Confucian Public Sphere”, Erasmus Student Journal of Philosophy, No. 11, pp. 26–37.
Ouyang R., Jing W., Liu Z. and Tang A. (2024), “Development of China’s Digital Economy: Path, Advantages and Problems”, Journal of Internet and Digital Economics, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 141–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDE-05-2024-0022
Taylor C. (1992), “The Politics of Recognition”, in A. Gutmann (ed.), Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp. 25–74.
Tytarchuk R. V. (2024), “Evoliutsiia kontseptsii Realpolitik: vid klasychnoho realizmu do suchasnykh vyklykiv”, Political Life, No. 4, pp. 43–48. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.31558/2519-2949.2024.4.5
Wallerstein I. (1998), Utopistics: Or Historical Choices of the Twenty-First Century, The New Press, New York.
Zhao Tingyang (2005), Tianxia tixi: Shijie zhidu zhexue daolun, Jiangsu jiaoyu chubanshe, Nanjing. (In Chinese).
Zhao Tingyang (2006), “Rethinking Empire from a Chinese Concept ‘All-Under-Heaven’ (Tianxia)”, Social Identities, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 29–41.
Zhao Tingyang (2009), Huai shijie yanjiu: zuowei diyi zhexuede zhengzhi zhexue, Renmin Daxue Chubanshe, Beijing. (In Chinese).
Zhao Tingyang (2016), Tianxia di dang dai xing: Shijie zhixu de shijian he xiangxiang, Zhongxin chubansh, Beijing. (In Chinese).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.