Beyond The Dilemma In The Rise Of Great Powers: Identity Construction And Transformation

When reviewing the history of great powers' rise, it is noticeable that the dilemma seems to exist naturally in the rising history of great powers. Almost every emergence of rising great powers results in global turbulence and war among the dominant forces. The model that rising of great power is bound to conflict and war seems to become the rule in western traditional international theory. British scholar Edward H. Can-goes so far as to recognize the "peaceful transition problem" as a core international relations dilemma. At present, China is puzzled by such "growing trouble of great power". Since 1990s, "China rise" has aroused wide concern all over the world accompanied with rapid advance in economy and increasing international standing. Meanwhile, all kinds of arguments against "China threat" caused durative clamor, whose adverse externality restricts China's peaceful development. It is obvious that the impact of "China threat" can't be eliminated without logically dividing and reinterpreting zero dilemmas in the rise of great power.This paper begins with security problem in the rise of great powers, and then explores the dilemma of rising great powers in international politics by systematizing and summarizing relative history and theories about it. At the same time, from the perspective of identity transformation, the paper analyses the relations among identity, security and power under anarchy, and discusses the probable path beyond the rising dilemma based on identification, so as to attempt to build the new explanatory framework for power's rise.This paper consists of six parts. Chapter One introduces the significance of eliminating the dilemma in the rise of great powers, especially for China, the research status quo in domestic and foreign countries, the framework and research method of this paper. It also explains some important concepts, such as great power, rise, and security.Chapter Two focuses on the relative history and the main theories about the rise of great powers. Since modern times, great powers rising through forces are regarded as a usual international phenomenon.