China, India, and the social construction of technology in international society: the English school meets science and technology studies

In recent years, there has been a growing scholarly interest in how International Relations theory can contribute to our understanding of the impact of technology on global politics, underpinned mainly by an engagement with Science and Technology Studies (STS). However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which international society shapes technology. Building on sociological and historical studies of science and technology, this article outlines one way through which international society has constituted technology by developing a synthetic account of the emergence of technological advancement as a ‘standard of civilisation’ in the nineteenth century that differentiated the ‘society of civilised states’ from non-European societies, with a particular focus on China and India. In doing so, this article also highlights how this process has had a powerful and enduring influence on Chinese and Indian conceptions about science and technology. Thus, by shifting the focus from how technology shapes global politics to how international society shapes technology, this article provides new insights into the relationship between technology, power, and modernity in an interdisciplinary context. It also offers a new way of thinking about the complex dynamics of today's global politics of technology

China, India in space and the orbit of international society: power, status, and order on the high frontier

This thesis is about the space programmes of China and India, and space as international society. Drawing on key concepts of the English School theory, the argument of the thesis is twofold. First, employing international society as the central analytical idea, it suggests that it is possible to conceptualise space not merely as a system, but as an international space society with a distinct international social structure. This argument is developed by highlighting how the nature of space as a distinctive sectoral interstate society is manifested in the ways in which its primary institutions are differentiated from such institutions at the global level (war, sovereignty, law, diplomacy, balance of power, great power management, the market) in a historical and comparative context. This helps to highlight the constitutive impact of these institutions on China and India as emerging space powers. It also puts forward ‘techno-nationalism’ as a primary institution of international space society. Second, the thesis argues that the pursuit of China and India’s space programmes has been informed by a particular understanding of techno-nationalism in a postcolonial context, what I call ‘postcolonial techno-nationalism’, which is centred on the development of space technology as a normative indicator of the state’s power, status, and modernity. The enduring influence of postcolonial techno-nationalism reflects how technological advancement was seen to function as a sort of an informal ‘standard of civilisation’ during the expansion of the European society of states in the nineteenth century. Essentially, this thesis provides a useful range of innovative analytical tools to consider the relationship between technology and International Relations and how order is constructed, maintained, and contested in space. It also offers a new lens though which to consider the complex dynamics that shape China and India as rising space powers

Engineering world society? Scientists, internationalism, and the advent of the Space Age

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the English School concept of world society and how it helps to illustrate the role of non-state actors and the promotion of cosmopolitan values. Yet, less attention has been paid to the idea of science and technology as a key feature of solidarist conceptions of justice and as a unifier of humankind, usually expressed in the form of scientific internationalism. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it suggests that it is important to incorporate the role of scientists and engineers as agents of international society and to assess the significance of scientific internationalism in terms of its impact on facilitating world society. Second, however, it is also necessary to consider how this solidarist conception of science and technology is staged as complementary to a pluralist logic. This is because of the political and social embeddedness of scientists and engineers as actors who also think and act on behalf of the state. I develop this argument by examining two key turning points that paved the way towards the advent of the Space Age: the spaceflight movement of the 1920s and 1930s and the 1957–1958 International Geophysical Year

Social Movements and International Relations: A Relational Framework

Social movements are increasingly recognized as significant features of contemporary world politics, yet to date their treatment in international relations theory has tended to obfuscate the considerable diversity of these social formations, and the variegated interactions they may establish with state actors and different structures of world order. Highlighting the difficulties conventional liberal and critical approaches have in transcending conceptions of movements as moral entities, the article draws from two under-exploited literatures in the study of social movements in international relations, the English School and Social Systems Theory, to specify a wider range of analytical interactions between different categories of social movements and of world political structures. Moreover, by casting social movement phenomena as communications, the article opens international relations to consideration of the increasingly diverse trajectories and second-order effects produced by social movements as they interact with states, intergovernmental institutions, and transnational actors

China-Greece relations at 50: a not so happy anniversary?

This year marks half a century since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Greece. But while until recently, Beijing and Athens heralded close ties, new challenges increasingly cloud the future prospects of the relationship

China and India as rising powers and the militarisation of space

This chapter focuses on China and India as space powers with a specific focus on their growing interest in the use of space for military purposes. The chapter opens with an introduction and overview of China’s space programme, underlining the major accomplishments of its civilian space projects. The discussion then moves on to an examination of how China uses its space capabilities for military purposes. Following this, the chapter provides context for India’s space programme. It first discusses the key facets of India’s civilian programme and its notable achievements, before considering a recent shift towards the use of space for national security. Building on Scot Sagan’s framework on nuclear proliferation, the third section analyses China and India’s anti-satellite (ASAT) tests. It argues that such an analytical move helps to account for three reasons why states build ASATs, offering valuable insights into the study of China and India’s ASATs and their military activities more generally

Power transition, rising China, and the regime for outer space in a US-hegemonic space order

The regime for outer space is a paradigmatic example of Great Power Management within a hegemonic system. Although it is possible to suggest that a modicum of leadership transition is taking place as a result of China’s attempts to assume the role of a ‘responsible great power’ in space, premised on the provision of global public goods, the international politics of space continues to be defined by the policies and preferences of the United States as the leading space power. The chapter examines the current forces that shape the space regime, concentrating on the growing military uses of space, the democratisation of space activities, diplomatic efforts to set norms of responsible behaviour in space, and China’s ascendance as a ‘space’ great power

'Head of the Dragon’ or ‘Trojan Horse’?: reassessing China-Greece relations

China’s meteoric economic rise has precipitated a debate about its increasing importance in Europe through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In this context, for some observers, Greece serves as an illustration of how China is also translating its economic power into actual political influence over small EU states to Brussels’ disadvantage. This article challenges such simplistic and state-centric views by considering the role of contingent and domestic factors and the wider strategic environment in which Sino-Greek relations have unfolded. It also highlights the agency of influential actors at the more micro-level of analysis. It argues that although China has achieved some limited political gains, the relationship remains mainly economics-driven at a time when Greece is strengthening strategic ties with its traditional allies