第五届UIBE暑期国际问题论坛 “国家治理——国际比较与中国经验”征稿启事

1. 国家治理理论的新发展；

2. 国家治理的国际经验；

3. 当代中国国家治理的新发展；

4. 中国的国家治理对国际社会的意义。

      热忱欢迎海内外学者提交论文参加会议。论坛主办方将根据论文质量，确定最终参会人员。请各位广为知照，踊跃参与。详情请阅读下方的英文征稿启事。

Argument:

Despite the centrality of China in the current global setting and of the reforms pursued by the Chinese government, China’s emergence in the “global governance” arena, as well as the “national governance” (国家治理, guojia zhili) discourse have been largely ignored in the Western-language political science research on China.

“National governance” was proposed as the goal of the comprehensive political and economic reforms outlined within the framework of the 12^th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and further deepened within China’s 13^th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). Unlike the term tongzhi (统治), stressing on the traditional, hierarchical form of governance, often referred to as “government”, zhili (治理) is applicable not only to governing in general, but also to a strategy of implementing government reforms, within a setting of broad collaboration of state and society. “National governance” aims at identifying solutions to the problems that have arisen as a result of the wide-ranging Chinese economic reform, within the context of socialist market economy. In an article released by Xinhua on December 31, 2013, President Xi referred to “national governance” as “the concentrated expression of national systems and institutional implementation capacity” (国家制度和制度执行能力的集中体现).

In a Western key, “national governance” could be regarded as a successful attempt to indigenize the “good governance” concept, emphasizing the trend of adopting Western concepts, yet underlining the CCP’s commitment to “Chinese characteristics”. It is, in other words, a further proof that the Chinese political culture could, at the same, accommodate Western principles, yet without losing her own political identify.

Since its inception, “national governance”, understood as multi-polarity and non-hierarchical interaction between the state and society, under the guidance of the Party, has gained momentum and remains China’s most widely disseminated and discussed new concept in terms of political advancement and reform.

“Global governance” is a relatively novel concept in social sciences. Initially focusing on the centrality of the UN in areas ranging from peacekeeping and peacebuilding to preventive diplomacy, the term gained momentum in the Chinese academia and started to be used extensively, marking up China’s increasingly assertive role in the international arena.

Provided that the concept of global governance has been imported by China from the West, the Chinese understanding of global governance relies heavily on academic writings and reports from major international organizations. A special importance has been attached to the establishment of the Commission of Global Governance in 1992, with the full support of UN Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali, and the appearance of Global Governance journal in 1993, under the Academic Council of the United Nations System. Similarly, the Chinese Journal of Global Governance began publishing in 2015. Thus, the Chinese academia has embraced the idea of global governance, stressing on the necessity of global management of global issues, the underlying principles of good governance and the importance of both state and non-state actors in tackling global and regional problems.

The Chinese scholars manifested the belief that given global problems such as environmental degradation and transnational crimes, global governance is necessary regardless of differences in sociopolitical systems and ideologies. Actors such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations (MNCs), interests groups, think tanks and social movements play an important role in advancing the global governance agenda. In her efforts to join the world, China has greatly expanded her membership in international and translational governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Recent policy initiatives and academic discussions among Chinese scholars indicate a more assertive Chinese role in global governance, yet without aspiring to create an alternative global governance system. Many Chinese commentators agree that while being a major stakeholder in the current international system, China must play a role in advancing the current global governance setting. China should, in other words, provide viable developments to the current system. While unwilling to overthrow the current system or create a bipolar world, China admits its increasing major power status is nowadays presented with a rare opportunity to reshape the international order.

What are these opportunities and which aspects of global governance is China most interested to advance? What are the most influential governance theories in the Chinese academia and how to address the Western global governance paradigms? How does China’s new development of global governance come to terms with China’s new major power status? What are the implications of China’s increasingly assertive role in global governance on a regional and global level? How does the West regard China’s assertiveness? How do Westerners regard the concept of “national governance” in relation to “good governance”? How could China use her “national governance” to further advance and deepen the economic and political reform? How does “global governance” and “national governance” relate to the Chinese concepts of “harmonious world” and harmonious society”?

We invite proposals from different approaches such as political science, international relations, international law, history, sociology and cultural studies to examine the above questions and possibly suggest new research development hypothesis.   

The participants will present their research within thematic panels. Each speaker will deliver a paper or presentation in English, followed by a discussion with our scholars, specialists and audience. Your expected contributions may focus on, but are not limited to the following research topics:

Panel 1: The development of the state and governance theories;

Panel 2: International experiences of governance;

Panel 3: The new development of China’s governance;

Panel 4: Governance of China and its international implications.

Who can apply?

We cordially invite international and Chinese academics and specialists in social sciences, law and humanities currently in China or planning to visit China during July 2016. The working language of the forum is English. Forum participants will need to submit a working paper or presentation in English. While presentations are welcomed, working papers will be prioritized and, based on the selection of the Organizing Committee, published in an edited volume.

Selection Criteria

The papers accepted for presentation will be selected on a competitive selection basis. The quality of the papers and the discussion surrounding the papers at the Forum has been dramatically elevated during the past years. The selection will be conducted by the Organizing Committee of the Forum, mainly consisting of faculty of the UIBE School of International Relations and the Forum’s keynote speakers. The selection criteria will be as follows:

1. Relevance to the Forum’s broad theme;

2. Quality of the abstract;

3. Participant’s credentials;

4. Geographical diversity of the Forum participants;

5. Balancing senior and junior participants.

Registration details and schedule:

· The UIBE School of International Relations cordially invites all interested participants to fill in and submit the attached form containing their name, title/ designation, paper’s title, abstract and a bio by email to Mr. Nick Florea at uibesirsf@163.com by May 29, 2016.

· The selected participants will be notified no later than June 5, 2016.

· The final papers and presentations should be submitted no later than July 5, 2016.

· While presentations are welcomed, working papers will be prioritized. The selected papers will be published in an edited volume.

Practical arrangements:

The Forum will provide lunch. No funding is available for international or domestic travel or accommodation expenses.

Date and venue:

University of International Business and Economics (address: 10 East Huixin Street, Chaoyang, Beijing, China), July 9, 2016.

About UIBE:

The University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) School of International Relations is committed to teaching and researching in the areas of political science and international relations. The School recruits students at undergraduate and postgraduate (master) levels, specializing in international politics and comparative politics. The School originates in the UIBE School of the Humanities and Public Administration after its restructuring in 2006. It began to recruit undergraduate students in international politics in 2007, and was formally renamed the UIBE School of International Relations in 2010.

About UIBE’s International Affairs Summer Forum:

The UIBE International Affairs Summer Forum has been an annual academic event organized by the School since 2011. The School has held this Forum for four consecutive years, with experts from the US, France, Australia, Belgium, Denmark and Poland, as well as UIBE and the National Development and Reform Commission of China, being invited to present at the Forums and engaging in stimulating discussions with each other. In addition, the forums have been covered by China’s national media such as the Xinhua News Agency and the China Daily.

The 5^th UIBE International Affairs Summer Forum will be organized by the UIBE School of International Relations in 2016. The 5^th Forum will also integrate the visiting professors for the International Summer School of UIBE, as usual. In addition, the 5^th Forum will also be included into a series of events celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the UIBE School of International Relations.