ABSTRACT
The UN Security Council (UNSC) has been under an increasing international spotlight with the wars in Syria and Ukraine and the vetoes of some of its five permanent members (P5) in these wars. Yet, the P5 behave differently in and towards the UNSC, and this difference is not (only) explainable by material factors but also, as constructivist IR theory would argue, by the different ideational perspectives they have about world politics and their place in it. This paper deals with China’s conduct in and toward the UN Security Council from a constructivist perspective. China’s behavior rests on several notions, such as non-interference in the internal affairs of a State, and respect for its territorial integrity, as well as opposition to the use of force for regime change. China perceives the world as multipolar and pluralistic and considers that world politics should be conducted in a prudent and constructive manner that is based on consensus through consultation (among great powers) and the respect of the interests of all parties (including small and middle States). Since the start of the 21st century, China has been increasingly more active and assertive in the UNSC, which is evidenced by the fact that it is the permanent member with the most abstentions during this period and the only permanent member that has used the veto more times after the end of the Cold War than during it. At the same time, China wants to portray itself as a “responsible great power” in the UN and in the global order and pays considerable effort in building and maintaining this image. Yet, it stands for a restrictive interpretation of key concepts for international peace and security, such as sovereignty, responsibility, and threat to peace, and is not keen on Security Council reform.
REFERENCES
Chen, Z. (2016). China and the responsibility to protect. Journal of Contemporary China, 25(101),
686-700.
Cohen, R. & Deng, F. M. (2016). Sovereignty as responsibility: Building block for R2P. In A. Bellamy
& T. Dunne (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the responsibility to protect. (pp.74-93). Oxford
University Press.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library. (n.d.). Security Council - veto list. https://research.un.org/en/docs/
sc/quick
Garwood-Gowers, A. (2016). China’s “responsibile protection” concept: Reinterpreting the
responsibility to protect (R2P) and military intervention for humanitarian purposes. Asian
Journal of International Law, 6, 89-118.
Gill, Bates & Chin-Hao, Huang (2009). China’s Expanding Role in Peacekeeping: Prospects and
Policy Implications, SIPRI Policy Paper No. 25.
Finnemore, M., & Sikkink, K. (2001). Taking stock: The constructivist research program in international
relations and comparative politics. Annual Review of Political Science, 4, 391-416.
Foot, R. (2001). Chinese power and the idea of a responsible state. The China Journal, 45, 1-19.
Foot, R. (2014). ‘Doing some things’ in The Xi Jinping Era: The United Nations as China’s venue
of choice. International Affairs, 90(5), 1085-1100.
von Freiesleben, J. (2013). Reform of the Security Council 1945-2008. In Centre for UN Reform
Education. Governing and managing change at the United Nations: Reform of the Security Council
from 1945 to September 2013. Centre for UN Reform Education.
Fullilove, M. (2011). China and the United Nations: The Stakeholder Spectrum. The Washington
Quarterly 34(3), 63-85.
Fung, C. J., & Lam S.-h. (2022). Mixed report card: China’s influence at the United Nations. Lowy
Institute Analysis. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/mixed-report-card-china-
s-influence-united-nations
Lei, X. (2014). China as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung.
MacLeod, L. (2017). China’s Security Council engagement: The impact of normative and causal
beliefs. Global Governance, 23(3), 383-401.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (n.d.). China’s initiation
of the five principles of peaceful co-existence. https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/zy/
wjls/3604_665547/202405/t20240531_11367542.html
Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN. (2005). Position paper of the
People’s Republic of China on the United Nations reforms. http://www.china-un.org/eng/
chinaandun/zzhgg/t199101.htm
Reus-Smit, C. (2005), Constructivism. In Burchill, S., Linklater, A, Devetak, R., Donnelly, J., Paterson,
M., Reus-Smit, C. & True, J. (eds.) Theories of International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan.
pp.188-212.
Stojkovski, Lj. (2017a). Odgovornosta na meǵunarodnata zaednica za sprečuvanje na masovni
zlostorstva [Responsibility of the international community for preventing mass atrocities].
Praven dijalog, (14), 42–50.
Stojkovski, Lj. (2017b). The Importance of the “Responsibility not to Veto” Debate. In Sancin, V.
(ed.) Are we Manifestly Failing ‘R2P’?, University of Ljubljana, pp. 87-109.
Teitt, S. (2009). Assessing Polemics, Principles and Practices: China and R2P. Global Responsbility
to Protect, pp. 208-236.
Tiewa, L. (2012). China and Responsibility to Protect: Maintenance and Change of its Policy for
Intervention. The Pacific Review, vol.25, no.1, pp.153-173.
Tiewa, L. & Haibin, Z. (2014). Debates in China About the Responsibility to Protect as a Developing
International Norm: A General Assessment. Conflict, Security and Development, vol.14,
no.4, pp. 403-427.
United Nations Security Council. (2011, March 17). Security Council meeting record. UN Doc. S/
PV.6498.
United Nations Peacekeeping. (n.d.-a). Troop and police contributors. https://peacekeeping.
un.org/en/troop-and-police-contributors
United Nations Peacekeeping. (n.d.-b). How are we funded? https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/
how-we-are-funded
Wang, P. (2015). China and the Third Pillar. In Fiott, D. & Koops, J. (eds.), The Responsibility to
Protect and the Third Pillar: Legitimacy and Operationalization, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 78-96.
Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics.
International Organization, vol.46, no.2, pp. 391-425.
Wendt, A. (1995). Constructing International Politics. International Security, vol.20, no.1, pp.71-
81.
Wendt, A. (1999). Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge University Press.
Wenqi, Z. & Xinyu, L. (2015). China in the Security Council. In von Einsiedel, S., Malone, D.M.
& Ugarte, B.S. (eds.) The UN Security Council in the 21st Century, Lynne Rienner Publishers,
pp. 83-104.
Zongze, R. (2012). Responsible Protection: Building a Safer World. China Institute of International
Studies. http://www.ciis.org.cn/english/2012-06/15/content_5090912.htm