Security Studies In Chinese International Relations Theory:a Typological Analysis

Security has always been an important topic in the field of international relations theory.Seven types of Chinese international relations theoretical innovations,including relational theory,symbiosis theory,moral realism,evolutionary theory,competition,positional realism,and concordism,contain rich security concepts.This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the security concepts of Chinese international relations theory through a typological analysis approach in three parts.First,this paper unearths the security concepts embedded in these seven types of theories on the basis of sorting out the core concepts,contents and logic of the theories: relational security,symbiotic security,rising security,defensive realist security concept,competing security,and positional security,presenting in detail the thinking of Chinese international relations theoretical innovations in security research.Secondly,the security concepts of Chinese international relations theory are typologically analyzed from three aspects: type of thought,type of theory,and type of research.First,the two main ways of the ideological sources of Chinese international relations theory’s security concepts are comprehensively presented in terms of the type of ideas: ancient Chinese state political thought and contemporary international relations theory thought;second,the specific influence of Western international relations theory on Chinese international relations theory and its security concepts and the specific security concepts of Chinese international relations theory in the perspective of Western international relations theory are clarified in terms of the type of theories nature: rising security,defensive realist security concept,and positional security are security concepts under the perspective of realist theory,symbiotic security,competing security,and shared security are security concepts under the perspective of liberal theory,and relational security is security concepts under the perspective of constructivism;third: in terms of research types,different types of research focuses on different security concepts in the research process are found: relational security belongs to security research that is both interpretive and interpretative,rising security belongs to interpretive security research,symbiotic security,shared security,competing security and defensive realist view of security belong to normative security research,and positional security belongs to security research that is both interpretive and normative.It lays the foundation of a certain analytical framework for further understanding and grasping the characteristics of China’s security concepts in international relations theory.Finally,after a more refined typological analysis,the commonalities of these security concepts are found to be worthy of attention,i.e.,the security concepts of Chinese international relations theory have common features in different aspects.The seven types of security concepts respond to rising security in terms of security objectives and serve to achieve rising security and success;they are highly compatible with the overall national security concept in terms of security content and serve to implement the overall national security concept;they conform to global security initiatives in terms of security realization paths and provide theoretical support from the security concepts of international relations theory.In short,the seven types of security concepts serve the national security needs from different perspectives,with different focuses and to different degrees in all aspects.Based on this,two major implications and insights emerge from this paper’s typological analysis and study of Chinese international relations theory’s security concepts.For Chinese international relations theory,it comprehensively introduces the most cutting-edge Chinese international relations theoretical achievements,broadens the research scope of Chinese international relations theory,promotes the international relations disciplines to explore new research in a cross-fertilization perspective,and helps to enrich the theoretical connotation and broaden the research dimension of China’s peaceful rise.It is necessary for the development of China’s international relations theory to focus on certain core issues,for theory construction to absorb the essence of different paths,and for theoretical research to further strengthen security studies.For security research,it has to a certain extent bridged the gap between security research and theoretical research,broadened the perspective of theoretical research,helped to enhance the theorization of security research,provided a new perspective for exploring the cross-fertilization research of national security disciplines,helped to shape a secure domestic and foreign environment in the process of the country’s rise,and promoted China’s safe and successful rise.It is revealed that security research should,on the one hand,enhance the degree of theorizing and,on the other hand,need to strengthen the guidance and application of security theory to practice and enhance the applied research of security studies including the theory of China’s international relations.Therefore,this paper argues that Chinese international relations theory is rich in security concepts,and the three different perspectives of idea type,theory type and research type can deeply penetrate the ideological origin,theoretical nature and research tendency of these security concepts,while they have common characteristics in terms of security objectives,security contents and security approaches,which have certain theoretical and practical significance and can be thought-provoking and worthy of international relations It is worthy of in-depth study in the field of international relations theory and security.