Understanding International Economic Institutions and China through Uneven and Combined Development

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1, 33 - 42, 31.01.2023

Mert Söyler

https://doi.org/10.47478/lectio.1207017

Öz

For many decades, we are witnessing the economic rise of China and the increasing integration of China into existing international economic institutions. However, this paper argues that prevalent international relations theories are insufficient to explain this conjuncture of international political economy. Instead, this paper proposes the theory of uneven and combined development (UCD) to further integrate the international dimension of historical unevenness that is resulting from the historical conditions of global capitalism. The argument of this paper proceeds in two steps: First, the liberal, realist and orthodox Marxist theories’ analytical assumptions are discussed to understand the rise of China and its integration into international economic institutions, mainly the World Trade Organization. Second, the UCD theory is applied to reveal historical unevenness and intersocietal interactions through global capitalism. It is argued that the historical unevenness both determined the integration of China into international economic institutions and has caused instability within global capitalism through the trade war between US and China.

Anahtar Kelimeler

international political economy, China, US, uneven and combined development, late industrialization

Kaynakça

• Berger, B. & Martin, R., F. (2011). “The Growth of Chinese Exports: An Examination of the Detailed Trade Data.” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System International Finance Discussion Papers, 1-23.
• Fewsmith, J. (2001). “The Political and Social Implications of China’s Accession to the WTO.” The China Quarterly, 167, 573-591.
• Gonzalez Vicente , R. (2022). In the name of the nation: Authoritarian practices, capital accumulation, and the radical simplification of development in China’s global vision.” Globalizations, 1-16.
• Harvey, D. (1990). The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. 1st ed. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.
• Holsti, K J. (2004). Taming the Sovereigns Institutional Change in International Politics 1 st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• International Monetary Fund (2023). GDP based on PPP, share of world [Data file]. Retrieved from: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPSH@WEO/CHN/USA
• Jackson, R. & Sørensen , G. (2013). Introduction to International Relations Theories and Approaches. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Marx, K. (1982). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Translated by Ben Fowkes. Middlesex: Penguin Books.
• Matin, K. (2013). Recasting Iranian Modernity: International relations and social change. Oxford: Routledge.
• Oneal, J., R., Oneal, F., H., Maoz, Z & Russett, B. (1996). “ The Liberal Peace: Interdependence, Democracy, and International Conflict, 1950 85.” Journal of Peace Research, 33(1), 11-28.
• Rosenberg, J. & Boyle, C. (2019). “Understanding 2016: China, Brexit and Trump in the history of uneven and combined development.” Journal of Historical Sociology, 32(6), 32-58.
• Rosenberg, J. (2016). Uneven and Combined Development: ‘The International’ in Theory and History. In A. Anievas K. Matin (Eds.) Historical Sociology and World History Uneven and Combined Development over the Longue Durée (pp. 17-30). 1st ed. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
• Skocpol, T. (1994). Social Revolutions in the Modern World. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Trotsky, L. (2017). History of the Russian Revolution. Translated by Max Eastman. Middlesex: Penguin Books.
• Waltz, K. (1998). Interview with Ken Waltz Conducted by F. Halliday J. Rosenberg, Review of International Studies, 24(3) 371-386.
• Wimmer, A. & Schiller, N. G. (2002). “ Methodological nationalism and beyond: nation-state building, migration and the social sciences .” Global Networks 2(4), 301-334.
• Wimmer, A. & Schiller, N. G. (2003). “Methodological Nationalism, the Social Sciences, and the Study of Migration: An Essay in Historical Epistemology .” International Migration Review, 37(3), 576-610.
• World Bank (2023). Exports of goods and services (current US$) China, United States [Data file]. Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.CD?locations=CN-US