The Rise of China: A Major Choice for the World

Posted January 29, 2018

External Article: The Chinese Research Center

Fei-Ling Wang, a professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, wrote the Chinese Research Center, January 29, article, “The Rise of China: A Major Choice for the World.” The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs is part of the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Excerpt:

Students of international relations have long pondered the question of world political order and its changes. It is generally believed that either a shift of the distribution and concentration of power in the international system (power transition) or a reordering of the units in the system (change of the ordering principles and norms) would constitute a systemic change that will fundamentally alter world politics and reshape nations’ behavior and redirect human civilization. Some also suggested that we are not entirely slaves of the past, and our present and future are ours to make and change. Thus ideas, knowledge, and choices all matter. It is therefore critically important to detect, analyze, and cope with a systemic change of world politics for the sake of peace and prosperity. The world has seen quite a few power transfers and even attempts to establish new orders over the recent centuries. Costly world wars (hot and cold ones) have been fought in the 20th century alone. It has been mercifully rare for the world to be presented with a weighty choice about both the power redistribution and unit-reordering in the international system — systemic change in its fullest possible degree.

For the full article, visit the Center’s official website.