International sources of political order in the People’s Republic of China: a lacuna in the Fukuyama framework

Abstract

Fukuyama’s conception of political order centers on the state, the rule of law, and popular accountability, but does not adequately account for how international factors affect these elements of contemporary governance. Focusing on the history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the article notes how international sources of political order shaped each element of Fukuyama’s framework: conflict and war strengthened the PRC’s state apparatus, international institutions helped provide the rule of law that undergirded China’s economy growth, and international norms influenced how the Chinese state sought and received popular legitimacy. Each of these factors will continue to influence the political development of the PRC going forward.

Keywords:

• China
• second image reversed
• political order
• international institutions
• legitimacy
• nationalism
• rule of law

Notes

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Rosemary Foot and Peter Knaack for their generous and constructive suggestions.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor

Dr. Thomas Hale is an Associate Professor of Global Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. His books include Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes (Cambridge 2015), Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge 2014), and Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation Is Failing when We Need It Most (Polity 2013).

Notes

1 Fukuyuma, “The Origins of Political Order,” 19.

2 Ibid., 478.

3 Fukuyuma, “Political Order and Political Decay,” 556.

4 Ibid., 36.

5 Gourevitch, “The Second Image Reversed,” 881–912.

6 Shirk, “Internationalization and China’s Economic Reforms.” In Internationalization and Domestic Politics.

7 Tilly, Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990–1990.

8 Fukuyuma, “The Origins of Political Order,” 110.

9 The Yan’an period was not the only time and place in which the CCP developed state-like functions, but, with Mao located there, it was the area where Maoist practices were first deployed (Selden China in Revolution; Saich and Cheek, New Perspectives on State Socialism in China). The conflict with Japan also forced the Nationalist government to strengthen its state apparatus, parts of which the PRC would take over following its victory (Mitter, China’s War with Japan).

10 Christensen, Useful Adversaries: Grand Strategy, Domestic Mobilization, and Sino-American Conflict, 1947–1958.

11 Fukuyuma, “The Origins of Political Order,” 248.

12 For a discussion of how this ranking was compiled see Kaufmann et al. The Worldwide Governance Indicators: A Summary of Methodology, Data and Analytical Issues.

13 Zeng and Liang, “China and Global Trade Governance.”

14 Webster, “Paper Compliance.” 525–78.

15 Zhang and Li, “The Politics of Compliance with Adverse WTO Dispute Settlement Rulings in China.” 143–60.

16 Hale, “Between Interests and Law,” 320–49.

17 Fukuyuma, “The Origins of Political Order,” 442.

18 Fukuyuma, “The End of History and the Last Man.”

19 Bell, The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy.

20 Yahuda, “China's New Assertiveness in the South China Sea.” 446–59.

21 Mearshimer, “The Tragedy of Great Power Politics.”

22 Elliott et al., “Shadow banking in China.”