Dr Kingsley Edney1
1University Of Leeds, United Kingdom
Biography:
Dr Kingsley Edney is based in the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds. Dr Edney's research focuses on the ideational dimensions of China's international relations, such as propaganda, soft power, and China's international image, including international public opinion about China.
Abstract:
In recent years China has put forward a number of new global governance initiatives, with the apparent goal of reforming areas of international order such as security or development in ways that better align them with China’s preferences. Among these is the Global Civilization Initiative, first announced by Xi Jinping in March 2023, with the aim of promoting shared values, “inter-civilization dialogue” and cultural diversity. However, unlike its more high-profile predecessors the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative does not seem to focus on an immediately pressing issue in global governance. Civilization is not obviously a global public good like development or security, and in this area, there are no high-profile international institutions dominated by the United States and its allies that China might seek to displace that are comparable to those in the realms of security or economic development. Yet the fact that it shares the same naming convention as these other major initiatives indicates the project’s importance to the Chinese government, despite perhaps not having the same potentially universal appeal. This paper analyses the Global Civilization Initiative as a strategic meta-narrative that attempts to shape a shared understanding of how ideational forces, such as values, ideology and culture, should interact at the global level. It investigates what the Global Civilization Initiative tells us about China’s approach to the global governance of ideas and explores its implications beyond just assisting the Chinese government to push back against the universalism of Western liberal democracy.