As China has risen since 1978, international relations researchers have expected that it will either increasingly integrate into the existing liberal order and its institutions, or engage in conflict with other countries and especially a declining United States. Instead, it has engaged in a variety of cooperative and aggressive actions in different areas of its relations over time. This behaviour might be seen as evidence of how China is continuously working out its identity and the meaning of its rise in the international system. From fiery nationalists who rail against the US and Japan in online forums and social media platforms, to the way in which African cooperation is presented by the Communist Party in its mouthpiece People’s Daily, this takes different forms and involves many different actors. This presentation will show how studying these processes of identity formation in China can help us to understand the range of different foreign policies it adopts. It will also reveal why it is important to develop the skills to be able to look inside the country, examining how ordinary people discuss topics such as international affairs, if we want to really understand China.

Nicholas Olczak completed his PhD in International Relations at the Department of Economic History and International Relations, Stockholm University. His thesis studied the competing identity discourses that shape China’s foreign policy. His research focuses on constructivist and discourse-based approaches to understanding China’s foreign policies and on international cooperation to confront global challenges, particularly cooperation involving China. He has been a postdoctoral researcher at Stockholm University and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI).