Norms and their implications for the making of China's foreign aid policy since 1949 : Case studies of Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

This thesis will apply the constructivist theory of International Relations (IR) to
the study of Chinese foreign policy, beginning with an examination of the IR
theories, realism, liberalism and constructivism, and how each theory explains
Chinese foreign policy and its aid behaviour. It will focus on norms and their
implications for the making of China's foreign aid policy. Four norms, Asianism,
internationalism, sovereignty, and developmental ism are discussed and related to
their specific roles in China's policy making. Asianism involves the construction
of an Asian identity within Asia, internationalism involves the development of
international responsibility, sovereignty entails non-interference in other
countries' affairs, and developmentalism involves the transmission of the Beijing
Consensus. The analysis continues by linking China's identity to each norm in an
historical overview of Chinese foreign policy since 1949. The overview
demonstrates how China's identity has become transformed at critical stages
throughout the history of the PRC, from victim to neutral actor, to its present great
power state, and how these changes in identity have influenced China's
subsequent behaviour. By examining three cases, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin
America, this thesis seeks to explain China's foreign policy within each region
and highlights how China's policies have been guided by its identity and the
mutually constituted norms during its periods of regional activity. The Southeast
Asia study is focussed on all four norms, whilst the African and Latin American
studies address internationalism, sovereignty and developmental ism. Particular
attention is placed upon China's changing identity and its impact on China's
future foreign policy and application of foreign aid.