From Empire To International Community

A highly hierarchical empire system or a comparatively equal and harmonious international community? It is an epochal subject of great significance to perceive and identify the transforming status of the East Asia international system in post-cold war times and to predict its future. Combining the perspective of Empire and that of international community can make our recognition and examination of the pulse of the long running historical developing process of the East Asia international system more delicate, our study thoughts on the transformation of the post-cold war East Asia International System better in order, our answers and interpretations of its present status more precise and our prediction of its future nearer to the trueness.Chapter 1 Empire and International communityIn this chapter, the two basic concepts—empire and international community——are redefined first: Empire refers to a specified human community between reality and imagination: the empire's traits of being a great power, compelling interactions and hierarchy of its constituting principles reflect that empire is a real existing human community; while the empire's plural mechanism, penetration capacity of its interactions and anarchic status of its constituting principles show at the same time that it is an imaginary human community. International community refers to a sub-global (or regional) human community in which various units sharing one identity and similar values are internationally communized.Secondly, empire is divided into hard empire and soft empire, and international community into tight international community and loose international community according to the interaction capability. A hard empire is a real existing human community with traits such as: being formal, tight, systematic and hierarchic, while a soft empire is an imaginary human community with some other traits of the same empire: being informal, loose and symbolic. A tight international community, as it is, emphasizes on the hierarchy, while a loose international community on the comparatively equal status of its all units. Both are connected with identity, though it is just one of important factors, but not the sole criterion.Lastly, it is necessary to point out that empire and international community are two concepts used both as tools for thinking and analysis and as subjects to be analyzed. Being a tool means the two concepts are of intellective and concept. Being a subject means they are of existence and entity. In other words, there exist real empires and international communities to be interpreted, and there also exist empire and community as analysis methods.Chapter 2 Regional East Asia and intellective"East Asia"In this chapter, differences and connections between region East Asia and intellective"East Asia"are differentiated and analyzed. Region East Asia is the understanding and interpreting object of intellective"East Asia", while intellective"East Asia"is the abstraction and elevation of region East Asia. The appearance and evolution of intellective"East Asia"not only reveal the cognition changes among the academia in the study field on region East Asia but also reflect the rising and declining tracks of the related countries'powers both inside and outside the region. The former forms the psychological background for the generation of intellective"East Asia", while the later forms the ecological background. Besides, the proposition of intellective"East Asia"collectively reflects"centre- periphery"structure in academia, ideological competitions behind the large variety of intellective and appeal to power.Meanwhile in this chapter, region East Asia is divided into formal region and functional region. The former refers to the static East Asia characterized by its closeness and multiplicity; the later refers to dynamic East Asia. The concept of functional region is deeply influenced by its plural units, identities and interaction patterns, and the structure of functional region is constituted by central parts, peripheral parts and intervention systems, as implies that the functional region has formed certain hierarchical characters. The operation mechanism of the former mentioned three composing parts is dynamic and circular; it exceeds the scope of the formal region and thus is characterized by its mobility and openness. In other words, region East Asia is characterized by its four traits: closeness, multiplicity, mobility and openness.What makes modernism connected with East Asia is revealed through the following three sectors: modernism expands the space of East Asia, changing it from a self-disciplined regional historical world to a geo-region of the global international system; modernism reconstructs East Asia as a regional historical world politically, economically and socially, and various ideologies having derived from modernism reconforms the original modern ideologies in East Asia as a regional historical world. Chapter 3 International System Theories and the East Asia International SystemIn this chapter, various unrefined theoretical models interpreting East Asia international relationship are reviewed, analyzed and criticized. The unrefinement of these theoretical models are mainly revealed through the following sectors: the theories are unrefined in terms of epistemology, theoretical methods and writing practice on history; the unrefinement leads to four study orientations: modernism orientations, problem orientations, historicism orientations and centralism orientations (though different in form); there is a lacking in the doctrinal retrospect and criticism on region East Asia and intellective"East Asia".Based on the examination and review of various international system theories in the international relation field, especially the English School's theories on international system, a new analysis framework on the East Asia International system is set up: the levels of analysis, which include central parts, peripheral parts and intervention systems, and the analysis sectors, which include regional economy, regional security and regional identity. Such a framework can connect empire, international community and region East Asia together. Using the levels of analysis and analysis sectors, we can also distinguish and recognize the three transforming types of the East Asia international system: transformation of system, the changes of international actors'(or units) forms and characters in the East Asia system; transformation of structure, the changes of the controlling patterns in the system, and the transformation of international actors'interaction methods. Empire and international community are results of these three transformations, and empire itself can also be a transforming factor. Chapter 4 the Historical Evolution of the East Asia International SystemUnder the analysis framework set up, the characters of the first three historical evolution phases of the East Asia international system are examined and summarized in these chapter.Characters of the ancient East Asia international system: regional economy sector——soft empire; loose international community; regional security sector——hard empire; tight international community; regional identity sector——overlapping field of soft empire and tight international community; transforming type——gradual transformation.Characters of the ongoing modern East Asia international system: regional economy sector——hard empire; tight international community; regional security sector——hard empire; loose international community; regional identity sector——loose international community; transforming type——radical transformation.Characters of the mature modern East Asia international system: regional economy sector——soft empire; tight international community; regional security sector——hard empire; regional identity sector——loose international community; transforming type——radical transformation.Chapter 5 Transition of the East Asia International System in post-cold war EraIn this chapter, by examining and analyzing the empire's"image", the characters of the East Asia international system in post-cold war times are summarized: regional economy sector– overlapping field between soft empire and tight international community; regional security sector– hard empire; loose international community; regional identity sector– loose international community; transforming type– radical transformation.The characters of the post-cold war East Asia international system in transformation show that the transformation is no longer a passive and"impact-reaction"pattern one, but an active, adaptive and constructive one. The reason for that is: globalization brings in the inerasable empire"image", and a probable foreground for the East Asia international community as well; the evolving and growing process of East Asia modernism is revealing more and more obviously its different particularities from that of western original ecology modernism; the participation of the East Asia indigenous resources and their filtering and fusing with the modernism make it possible to build constructing resources different from the those used by East Asia in history or western historical experiences. Just based on these reasons, the overlapping part between empire and international community in post- cold war East Asia region will be bigger than that in any previous historical periods.For the transformation of post-war East Asia international system, empire is an unavoidable fate, and international community is a struggle against that fate and a pursuit of regional integration. The tension in between reflects the sober cognition of the post-cold war East Asia international reality and the plight during the transformation of the East Asia international system in the post-war times as well.