Contested Identity: The Discourses Shaping China’s Foreign Policy provides a theoretically innovative analysis of China’s foreign policy through the lens of identity discourses. It critiques established IR paradigms of realism, liberalism, and conventional constructivism for their limited explanatory power regarding short-term changes in China’s foreign policy. Nicholas Olczak proposes that these changes can be better understood using a Lacanian poststructuralist framework which sees them as made possible by competing societal identity discourses. It argues that there is an ongoing discussion between members of the Chinese public and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), about who they are, and what China is – attempting to make sense of China’s identity as it has risen and become an important global power. This dynamic is investigated through two in-depth case studies, each focusing on a key issue in China’s international relations that has global significance – North Korea and the South China Sea. This detailed and nuanced analysis deepens our understanding of China’s strategic behavior and convincingly demonstrates why we should pay close attention to ongoing debates about its identity.
