The Rise of China and the U.S. led world order

Andersen, Hjalte Tikær ; Jensen, Mikkel Kusk

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2020

2020-05-28

Denne afhandling undersøger Kinas markante økonomiske og teknologiske fremvækst og dens betydning for den USA-ledede verdensorden med særligt fokus på handelskrigen mellem USA og Kina. Formålet er at udvikle en analytisk ramme, der integrerer fem perspektiver fra international politik og politisk økonomi—realisme, liberalisme, socialkonstruktivisme, verdenssystemteori og neo-gramscianisme—for at belyse kompleksiteten i Kinas opstigning uden at søge at verificere én teori som den korrekte. Gennem et casestudie af handelskrigen, støttet af kvalitative og kvantitative data, viser afhandlingen, at alle fem teorier bidrager til at forklare udfordringer og muligheder for den eksisterende orden, og peger på, at verdensordenen er blevet mere multipolær. Analysen indikerer, at handelskrigen blev indledt ikke kun for at reducere USA’s handelsunderskud med Kina, men også for at forsinke magtovergangen, begrænse normdiffusionen af den kinesiske udviklingsmodel og modvirke Kinas voksende indflydelse i global styring. Indtil nu har handelskrigen ikke opfyldt de erklærede mål fra Trump-administrationen.

This thesis examines China’s significant economic and technological rise and its implications for the U.S.-led world order, with a particular focus on the U.S.–China trade war. The aim is to develop an analytical framework that integrates five perspectives from international relations and political economy—realism, liberalism, social constructivism, world-systems theory, and neo-Gramscian theory—to capture the complexity of China’s ascent without privileging any single theory. Using a case study of the trade war, supported by qualitative and quantitative data, the thesis finds that all five theories help explain the challenges and opportunities facing the existing order and suggests the world has become more multipolar. The analysis indicates the trade war was launched not only to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China but also to delay a power transition, constrain the norm diffusion of China’s development model, and counter China’s growing influence in global governance. To date, the trade war has not achieved the Trump administration’s stated objectives.

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Andersen, Hjalte Tikær:

• The Rise of China and the U.S. led world order (2020)

Jensen, Mikkel Kusk:

• The Rise of China and the U.S. led world order (2020)