On National Needs--From The Visual Angle Of International Relations Theory

The major western international relations theory takes the concepts of national interests and power as the core, puts emphasis on defining national interests as the basic starting point and destination of states' decision-making and actions. This kind of thought that is conducted in the single-dimension of "power-interests" will inevitably result in the national egoism notably characterized by power politics in states' international community practice, which therefore is prejudicial to world peace and development. This thesis holds that national needs decide national interests, and do be the original motivity of states' behavior and international relations. National needs in essence are a tense situation caused by deficiency or probable deficiency and a natural tendency for a nation to obtain its own deficiency and probable deficiency. National needs have the fundamental attributes of being intrinsic and being objective, etc. The originally purposive national needs that usually display in the form of national fundamental purposes have the nature of gradation, which determines that different national interests enjoy different preferential ranks at the time of being pursued and met. In fact, the changes of the times are nothing but the results of national needs' ensemble structure changes, real life of the state is only the results of the national needs' changes of forms, and real international relations are just the results of national needs' interdynamic changes to a great extent. In the era of globalization, the new-type international relations acquire the new-type mode of thinking in two-dimension ("needs-interests" dimension and "needs-rights" dimension) which the theory of national needs containing conforms with the demands of the globalization era,and should be conducive to eliminating international contradictions, settling international disputes and to promoting a kind of just and orderly international relations with mutual understanding and mutual accommodation to be established.