Breaking the Ice: Russian and Chinese Sharp Power in the Interstate System
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This study identifies two actors, China and Russia, and investigates their relationship through the lens of sharp power––that which is less pugnacious than hard power, but more coercive than soft power, and undermines faith in or the function of democratic processes and institutions. Specifically, sharp power is one method through which states can express national attitudes within the interstate system. Sharp power is a useful theoretical framework on two fronts. First, it aids scholars in gleaning the motivations behind how Russia and China jointly and separately interface with conceptions of “order.” Second, it helps scholars and analysts to discern the robustness of Sino-Russian cooperation and identify areas of competition. The two lines of thought are synthesized in how China’s and Russia’s use of sharp power in the interstate system reveals strategic convergence or dissonance. That is, Russia’s and China’s bilateral approaches to each other are informed by how they conceive of their status within and adherence to the interstate order. To that end, this thesis addresses the question, “To what extent are the Chinese and Russian states converging on a mutual set of coercive instruments in multilateral organizations, and what threat, if any, does the Sino-Russian relationship pose to the current world order?” The following investigation hypothesizes that the sharp power framework elucidates nuances regarding how states interface with notions of order, and therefore lends insights into the Sino-Russian relationship that are not easily gleaned from the facts on the ground. In substantiating this hypothesis, the thesis covers the character of sharp power instruments, how they can be deployed in the interstate context, Russian and Chinese approaches to order (as informed by sharp power usage in multilateral forums), what these insights tell scholars about the nature of their relationship, how these dynamics play out in a key security theater––the Arctic––and possible responses from Western actors. It posits two main conclusions: (1) China is a more “responsible” player with deeper stakes in the interstate system than Russia; (2) the Sino-Russian relationship is limited primarily by a lack of coherence in their respective approaches to order and each’s status within it. Nestled in this conclusion is the assertion that the prevailing conceptualization of the “liberal international order” in political science literature risks conflating the states’ motivations, resulting in possible misdiagnosis and mal-prescription. A more accurate depiction of this order is as a highly heterogeneous and primarily legal framework, indicating that scholars need more refined analytical instruments to distinguish between illegitimate power projection and legitimate interest or presence.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Publication date | October 31, 2023; September 1, 2023 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Baker, Laurel |
|---|---|
| Advisor | McFaul, Michael |
| Advisor | Gottemoeller, Rose |
Subjects
| Subject | Arctic |
|---|---|
| Subject | Hybrid warfare |
| Subject | Gray-zone |
| Subject | Interstate |
| Subject | Sharp Power |
| Subject | Russia |
| Subject | China |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Capstone |
| Genre | Thesis |
| Genre | Student project report |
Bibliographic information
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- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Baker, L. (2023). Breaking the Ice: Russian and Chinese Sharp Power in the Interstate System. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/rj336xn7639. https://doi.org/10.25740/rj336xn7639.
Collection
Masters Theses in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
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- Contact
- laurelgbaker@gmail.com
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