Strange, Gerry/Gerard (2011) China's post-Listian rise: beyond radical globalisation theory and the political economy of neoliberal hegemony. New Political Economy, 16 (5). pp. 539-559. ISSN 1356-3467

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Abstract

While China’s rise has been much discussed, its meaning continues to be contested. This is true in radical international political economy, where, for example, it was the subject of (often polarised) debates between Giovanni Arrighi and David Harvey prior to Arrighi’s death in 2009. This reflected a broader debate in IPE between development theory and radical globalisation analysis. The key point of contention is whether China’s rise represents a challenge to or further consolidation of neoliberal hegemony on a global scale. This article critically scrutinises some of the key assumptions of the radical globalisation approach, specifically, that China represents another form of the ‘competition state’ whose development aspirations have been radically constrained by global ‘new constitutionalism’ and American monetary power so as to conform to neoliberalism. Deploying a structurationist approach to global governance and an eclectic/regulatory analysis of the Chinese state, I argue that China has challenged neoliberalism by projecting its growing power through constitutionalised global governance. In the face of (declining) American power, global constitutionalism has provided an opportunity structure that may help China consolidate its long-term strategy of consensual development. Far from anchoring ‘neoliberal hegemony’, global economic governance is increasingly central to its unravelling.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	While China’s rise has been much discussed, its meaning continues to be contested. This is true in radical international political economy, where, for example, it was the subject of (often polarised) debates between Giovanni Arrighi and David Harvey prior to Arrighi’s death in 2009. This reflected a broader debate in IPE between development theory and radical globalisation analysis. The key point of contention is whether China’s rise represents a challenge to or further consolidation of neoliberal hegemony on a global scale. This article critically scrutinises some of the key assumptions of the radical globalisation approach, specifically, that China represents another form of the ‘competition state’ whose development aspirations have been radically constrained by global ‘new constitutionalism’ and American monetary power so as to conform to neoliberalism. Deploying a structurationist approach to global governance and an eclectic/regulatory analysis of the Chinese state, I argue that China has challenged neoliberalism by projecting its growing power through constitutionalised global governance. In the face of (declining) American power, global constitutionalism has provided an opportunity structure that may help China consolidate its long-term strategy of consensual development. Far from anchoring ‘neoliberal hegemony’, global economic governance is increasingly central to its unravelling.
Keywords:	globalisation, governance, development, regulatory state, structuration
Subjects:	L Social studies > L200 Politics L Social studies > L100 Economics L Social studies > L150 Political Economics
Divisions:	College of Social Sciences > Faculty of Health & Social Sciences > School of Social & Political Sciences
Depositing User:	Gerry Strange
Date Deposited:	12 Apr 2011 09:00
Last Modified:	13 Mar 2013 08:59
URI:	http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/id/eprint/4388

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