| The existing studies on the theory of national identity in international politics only pay attention to the external process and interaction of identity,ignoring the internal content and structure of identity,resulting in the "black box" of identity,leading to the serious limitation of the explanatory ability and scope of "the state is an identity actor" in international politics.Starting from exploring the different sources of identity construction,this study proposes the concept of combinatorial identities,and considers that national identity is “the combination of attributive identity,normative identity,and relational identity”,thus upgrading the assumption that "the state is the identity actor" to "the state is the combinatorial identities actor".This study try to explore the construction and interaction of the three kinds of identity to reveal the essence of national identity,through arguing that“the state is the combinatorial identities actor” to reinterpret,observe the international political phenomenon,to promote the further development of the national identity theory of international politics.Studies on national identity in international politics mainly exist in international political psychology and constructivism schools.International political psychology emphasizes the internal construction of identity and divides national identity into attributive identity and normative identity according to different domestic characteristics.Constructivism divides national identity into the inherent identity possessed before participating in international interaction and the identity formed after participating in international interaction.International political psychology emphasizes the internal construction of identity and negates the external construction of identity.Constructivism emphasizes the external construction of identity,while ignoring and shelving the internal construction of identity.Therefore,the study of national identity should integrate the biased classification of international political psychology and constructivism,and transcend the simple classification of internal identity and external identity,so as to explore and grasp the essence of national identity from three dimensions: attributive identity,normative identity and relational identity(role).According to the concept of national combinatorial identities,national identity is “the combination of attributive identity,normative identity and relational identity”。Attributive identity originates from innate inheritance and heredity,and takes domestic culture as its construction source.Normative identity is derived from acquired socialization and constructed from domestic and international norms.Relational identity originates from the interaction of actors,and is constructed from relative position and status.Attributive identity emphasizes the sense of belonging,kinship,pursuing a familiar environment and "feeling of home".Normative identity follows the "logic of appropriateness" and emphasizes the active pursuit of "virtue and appropriateness".Relational identity emphasizes the effort to obtain a favorable position and status in the interaction with the reverse role,either to maintain one’s favorable role or to transform one’s unfavorable role.The concept of national combinatorial identities have at least the following meanings.First,the three kinds of identity are indispensable,each of which performs its own function.Second,normative identity originates from attributive identity,but it goes beyond attributive identity.Third,some roles are initial constructed by attributive identity and normative identity,and all roles are indirectly influenced by attributive identity and normative identity.This study elevates national identity to national portfolio identity is not simply a theoretical optimization,but also a paradigm upgrade,which enables a more essential and precise interpretation of state interests and state behaviors.In terms of national interests,this study specifically defines national interests as the culture,norms and status contained in the combination of national identities.Although this will not change the composition of the classical national interests of “security,sovereignty,development and dignity”,it will refill the specific contents of these four aspects.In terms of state behavior,this study believes that relational identity is directly related to behavior,which is a synchronic construction relationship,while attributive identity and normative identity are indirectly related to behavior,which is a diachronic causal relationship.Therefore,it is very important for each country to construct the attributive identity,normative identity and relational identity that are suitable for both itself and the environment.The construction of the national identity should conform to both the general law of the national identity theory and the deep law of the national combinatorial identities theory proposed by this study.At the level of identity process,we should recognize the inevitability of the rise and fall of identity,and strive for the rebirth of identity and prevent the fracture of identity through the gradual and reform path.At the level of identity interaction,it is necessary to recognize the need for identity recognition,maintain the clear identity by means of internal integration and external consistency,so as to avoid the ambiguous,changeable and contradictory identity.At the level of identity structure,we should recognize the universality of identity dilemmas,strive for inclusiveness between identities and prevent the tearing of identities by means of reconciliation or trade-off.In the process of constructing attributive identity,the state should prevent identity fragmentation,maintain the integrity of attributive identity,prevent identity dwarf,maintain the highest attribute of attributive identity,and adopt the attitude of recognizing,respecting,appreciating and embracing other cultures.In the process of constructing normative identity,on the one hand,the state should pay attention to the division of domestic norms and international norms,should internalize the aggressive and expansive ideological national identity,and on the other hand,the state should compare eastern norms and western norms,so as to construct a reciprocal and inclusive normative identity.In the process of constructing relational identity,the state should take the setting and pursuit of global roles as the core task.In the process of identity setting,it is necessary to accurately evaluate one’s own strength,suppress the impulse to overestimate one’s own strength,and avoid such role cognition errors as “self-superiority,stereotype,desire mind,cognition conformity,induced formular,and taking history as a mirror” in the process of identity pursuit.At present,China is facing the opportunity for identity optimization.By applying the theory of national combinatorial identities,we can think about the evolution direction of Chinese identity in the future and put forward some suggestions.National identity is an organic combination of attributive identity,normative identity and relational identity.China should carry out identity reconstruction according to these three types of identity classification,one of which is indispensable.The construction of Chinese combinatorial identitise should not only follow the general law of national combinatorial identities construction,but also take into account China’s special national conditions and specific stages,and explore the self-path of Chinese combinatorial identitise.China’s attributive identity should emphasize the balance between the highest and the unity of identity of the People’s Republic of China.Facing the political reality that China has not yet been fully unified,the highest and the unity of the attributive identity should be handled flexibly.In the face of the potential harm of identity degradation to the highest of identity,the influence of identity politics should be resolved through the construction of dominant culture and citizenship identity.The normative identities of China should emphasize both internal and external considerations of the dominant socialist national identity with Chinese characteristics and the epitaxial responsible national identity,and should emphasize the upgrading,optimization and reconstruction of China’s responsible national identity by the international norms of a community with a shared future for mankind.On the one hand,relational identity should emphasize the organic combination of developing country and emerging power.On the other hand,it should emphasize the construction of the role of partner by the Chinese culture of "harmony and moderation" and the international norm of "a community with a shared future for mankind",so as to dispel the international community’s scruples about China’s rise. |
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