China and the changing Liberal International Order
evidence from the AIIB and NDB
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2317-773X.2023v11n2p24-37Keywords:
Liberal International Order, China, AIIB, NDB, Institutional IsomorphismAbstract
The emergence of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) in the 2010s has prompted analysis of the possible mutations of the Liberal International Order (LIO), with the AIIB being the first international institution led by China and the NDB the first non-Western multilateral institution, apparently representing a counter-hegemonic potential. Within the framework of discussions on changes in the order, this article questions whether these two institutions represent a threat, reform or perpetuation of the LIO. To this end, we analyzed their governance structure, the profile of their staff and the lending patterns employed. The hypothesis is that the innovative impetus of these banks is dampened by processes of 'institutional isomorphism', where different institutions become homogeneous at a structural and behavioral level over time. The first section uses the concept of institutional statecraft as a theoretical mobilizer to discuss the role of these banks in the LIO. The second develops the theoretical basis of the concept of institutional isomorphism. The last section is dedicated to analyzing the way in which these two banks act, indirectly and directly, as perpetuators of LIO. The conclusion is that these banks represent complements to the International Liberal Order, demonstrating their resilience in incorporating new actors into the International System.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
ACHARYA, Amitav. How ideas spread: Whose norms matter? Norm localization and institutional change in Asian regionalism. International organization, v. 58, n. 2, p. 239-275, 2004.
ACHARYA, Amitav. Whose Ideas Matter?: Agency and Power in Asian Regionalism. Cornell University Press, 2009.
APOLINARIO JUNIOR, Laerte; JUKEMURA, Felipe. A comparative analysis of the environmental and social policies of the AIIB and World Bank. Global Policy, 2022.
BALDWIN, David A. Economic statecraft: New edition. Princeton University Press, 2020.
BARNETT, Michael N.; FINNEMORE, Martha. The politics, power, and pathologies of international organizations. International organization, v. 53, n. 4, p. 699-732, 1999.
BAZBAUERS, Adrian Robert; ENGEL, Susan. The Global architecture of Multilateral Development Banks: A system of debt or Development?. Routledge, 2021.
BÖRZEL, Tanja A.; ZÜRN, Michael. Contestations of the liberal international order: From liberal multilateralism to postnational liberalism. International Organization, v. 75, n. 2, p. 282-305, 2021.
CHIN, Gregory T. The BRICS‐led development bank: purpose and politics beyond the G20. Global policy, v. 5, n. 3, p. 366-373, 2014.
CHINA. CONSULATE-GENERAL OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. President Xi Jinping Makes Remarks on Promoting the Connectivity in the Asia Pacific at the 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. 2013a. Disponível em: <http://toronto.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zgxw/201310/t20131011_7096721.htm>. Acesso em: 31 dez. 2022.
CHINA. THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE OF CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY IN THE HONG KONG S.A.R. Xi Jinping Attends 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Delivers Important Speech. 2013b. Disponível em: <http://hk.ocmfa.gov.cn/eng/jbwzlm/xwdt/zt/xzxcxytjh/201310/t20131011_10095140.htm>. Acesso em: 27 ago. 2023.
CUNHA, André Moreira. Iniciativa de Chiang Mai: integração financeira e monetária no Pacífico Asiático. Revista de economia contemporânea. Rio de Janeiro. Vol. 8, n. 1 (jan./jun. 2004), p. 211-245, 2004.
DEUDNEY, Daniel; IKENBERRY, G. John. The nature and sources of liberal international order. Review of international studies, v. 25, n. 2, p. 179-196, 1999.
DIMAGGIO, Paul J.; POWELL, Walter W. The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, v. 48, n. 2, p. 147-160, 1983.
DIMAGGIO, Paul J.; POWELL, Waltyer W. The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, Il.: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
DUGGAN, Niall. BRICS and the evolution of a new agenda within global governance. In: The European Union and the BRICS. Springer, Cham, 2015. p. 11-25.
FINNEMORE, Martha. National interests in international society. Cornell University Press, 1996.
FINNEMORE, Martha; SIKKINK, Kathryn. International norm dynamics and political change. International organization, v. 52, n. 4, p. 887-917, 1998.
FINNEMORE, Martha et al. Preface. International organization, v. 75, n. 2, p. III-IV, 2021.
GLOSNY, Michael A. China and the BRICs: A real (but limited) partnership in a unipolar world. Polity, v. 42, n. 1, p. 100-129, 2010.
GRANSOW, Bettina; PRICE, Susanna. Social risk management at AIIB–Chinese or international characteristics?. Journal of Chinese Political Science, v. 24, n. 2, p. 289-311, 2019.
IKENBERRY, G. John. Liberal internationalism 3.0: America and the dilemmas of liberal world order. Perspectives on politics, v. 7, n. 1, p. 71-87, 2009.
IKENBERRY, J.; LIM, D. China? s emerging institutional statecraft: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Prospects for Counter-Hegemony. Washington: Brookings. 2017.
INDIA. Fourth BRICS Summit: Delhi Declaration. Ministry of External Affairs. 2012 Disponível em: <http://www.brics.utoronto.ca/docs/120329-delhi-declaration.html#actionplan>. Acesso em 27 ago. 2023.
JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain. China in a world of orders: Rethinking compliance and challenge in Beijing's international relations. International Security, v. 44, n. 2, p. 9-60, 2019.
JONES, Catherine. China's Challenge to Liberal Norms: The Durability of International Order. Springer, 2018.
KOCH, Martin; STETTER, Stephan. Sociological Perspectives on International Organizations and the Construction of Global Order-an Introduction. Journal of International Organizations Studies. Special Issue: Sociological Perspectives on International Organizations and the Construction of Global Order, n. 4, 2013.
LAKE, David A.; MARTIN, Lisa L.; RISSE, Thomas. Challenges to the liberal order: Reflections on international organization. International organization, v. 75, n. 2, p. 225-257, 2021.
LIANG, Wei. China’s Institutional Statecraft under Xi Jinping: Has the AIIB Served China’s Interest?. Journal of Contemporary China, v. 30, n. 128, p. 283-298, 2021.
LIM, Darren J.; IKENBERRY, G. John. China and the Logic of Illiberal Hegemony. Security Studies, v. 32, n. 1, p. 1-31, 2023.
LOWNDES, Vivien; ROBERTS, Mark. Why institutions matter: The new institutionalism in political science. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.
MANNERS, Ian. Normative power Europe: a contradiction in terms?. JCMS: Journal of common market studies, v. 40, n. 2, p. 235-258, 2002.
MARCH, James G.; OLSEN, Johan P. Rediscovering institutions. Nova York: The Free Press, 1989.
MARCH, James G.; OLSEN, Johan P. The logic of appropriateness. Oslo: Arena, 2004.
MASTANDUNO, Michael. Economic Statecraft. In: SMITH, Steve. Et al. Foreign Policy: theory, actors, cases. 3 ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
PARK, Susan. Theorizing norm diffusion within international organizations. International politics, v. 43, n. 3, p. 342-361, 2006.
PARK, Susan. Institutional isomorphism and the Asian Development Bank's accountability mechanism: something old, something new; something borrowed, something blue?. The Pacific Review, v. 27, n. 2, p. 217-239, 2014.
PEREIRA, João Márcio Mendes. Assaltando a pobreza: política e doutrina econômica na história do Banco Mundial (1944-2014). Revista de História (São Paulo), p. 235-265, 2016.
ROTHSTEIN, Bo. Political institutions: an overview. In: GOODIN, Robert E. Goodin; KLINGEMANN, Hans-Dieter. A new handbook of political science, p. 133-166, 1996.
SERRANO OSWALD, Omar Ramon. The new architects: Brazil, China, and innovation in multilateral development lending. Public Administration and Development, v. 39, n. 4-5, p. 203-214, 2019.
SCHMIDT, Vivien A. Values and Discourse in the Politics of Adjustment. In: SCHARPF, Fritz W.; SCHMIDT, Vivien A. Welfare and Work in the Open Economy, Volume I: from vulnerability to competitiveness. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 229-309.
SCHMIDT, Vivien A. Institutionalism. In: HAY, Colin; LISTER, Michael; MARSH, David. The State. Theories and Issues. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. p. 98-117.
SIKKINK, Kathryn; FINNEMORE, Martha. Taking stock: The constructivist research program in international relations and comparative politics. Annual Review of Political Science, v. 4, p. 391-416, 2001.
SOBOLEWSKI, Matthias; LANGE, Jason. US urges allies to think twice before joining China-led bank. Reuters. 2015. Disponível em: <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-asia-bank-idUSKBN0MD0B320150317>. Acesso em: 27 ago. 2023.
STUENKEL, Oliver. Post-western world. Malden, MA: Polity, 2016.
UHLIN, Anders. Civil society and policy reforms in the Asian Development Bank. In: Global Economic Governance and the Development Practices of the Multilateral Development Banks. Routledge, 2015. p. 84-103.
XING, Li; SHENGJUN, Zhang. The international political economy of the rise of China and emerging powers: Traditional perspectives and beyond. In: The Routledge Handbook to Global Political Economy. Routledge, 2020. p. 74-91.
WAN, Ming. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: The construction of power and the struggle for the East Asian international order. Springer, 2016.
WANG, Hongying. New multilateral development banks: Opportunities and challenges for global governance. Global Policy, v. 8, n. 1, p. 113-118, 2017.
WEBER, Max. Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. University of California press, 1978.
WEBER, Max. A Ética Protestante e o “Espírito” do Capitalismo. São Paulo, Editora Schwarzcz, 2004.
WEINHARDT, Clara; TEN BRINK, Tobias. Varieties of contestation: China’s rise and the liberal trade order: [Contribution to forum: China’s rise in a liberal world order in transition]. Review of International Political Economy, v. 27, n. 2, p. 258-280, 2020.
WORLD BANK. GDP, PPP (current international $) - China, United States. 2021. Disponível em: <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD?locations=CN-US>. Acesso em: 27 ago. 2023.
YUAN, Xinyu. The Chinese approach to peacebuilding: contesting liberal peace?. Third World Quarterly, v. 43, n. 7, p. 1798-1816, 2022.
ZHU, Jiejin; HU, Xinyu. Back to the Iron Cage? Institutional Isomorphism of the AIIB. International Organisations Research Journal, v. 16, n. 3, 2021.
ACHARYA, Amitav. Whose Ideas Matter?: Agency and Power in Asian Regionalism. Cornell University Press, 2009.
APOLINARIO JUNIOR, Laerte; JUKEMURA, Felipe. A comparative analysis of the environmental and social policies of the AIIB and World Bank. Global Policy, 2022.
BALDWIN, David A. Economic statecraft: New edition. Princeton University Press, 2020.
BARNETT, Michael N.; FINNEMORE, Martha. The politics, power, and pathologies of international organizations. International organization, v. 53, n. 4, p. 699-732, 1999.
BAZBAUERS, Adrian Robert; ENGEL, Susan. The Global architecture of Multilateral Development Banks: A system of debt or Development?. Routledge, 2021.
BÖRZEL, Tanja A.; ZÜRN, Michael. Contestations of the liberal international order: From liberal multilateralism to postnational liberalism. International Organization, v. 75, n. 2, p. 282-305, 2021.
CHIN, Gregory T. The BRICS‐led development bank: purpose and politics beyond the G20. Global policy, v. 5, n. 3, p. 366-373, 2014.
CHINA. CONSULATE-GENERAL OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. President Xi Jinping Makes Remarks on Promoting the Connectivity in the Asia Pacific at the 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. 2013a. Disponível em: <http://toronto.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zgxw/201310/t20131011_7096721.htm>. Acesso em: 31 dez. 2022.
CHINA. THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE OF CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY IN THE HONG KONG S.A.R. Xi Jinping Attends 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Delivers Important Speech. 2013b. Disponível em: <http://hk.ocmfa.gov.cn/eng/jbwzlm/xwdt/zt/xzxcxytjh/201310/t20131011_10095140.htm>. Acesso em: 27 ago. 2023.
CUNHA, André Moreira. Iniciativa de Chiang Mai: integração financeira e monetária no Pacífico Asiático. Revista de economia contemporânea. Rio de Janeiro. Vol. 8, n. 1 (jan./jun. 2004), p. 211-245, 2004.
DEUDNEY, Daniel; IKENBERRY, G. John. The nature and sources of liberal international order. Review of international studies, v. 25, n. 2, p. 179-196, 1999.
DIMAGGIO, Paul J.; POWELL, Walter W. The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, v. 48, n. 2, p. 147-160, 1983.
DIMAGGIO, Paul J.; POWELL, Waltyer W. The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, Il.: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
DUGGAN, Niall. BRICS and the evolution of a new agenda within global governance. In: The European Union and the BRICS. Springer, Cham, 2015. p. 11-25.
FINNEMORE, Martha. National interests in international society. Cornell University Press, 1996.
FINNEMORE, Martha; SIKKINK, Kathryn. International norm dynamics and political change. International organization, v. 52, n. 4, p. 887-917, 1998.
FINNEMORE, Martha et al. Preface. International organization, v. 75, n. 2, p. III-IV, 2021.
GLOSNY, Michael A. China and the BRICs: A real (but limited) partnership in a unipolar world. Polity, v. 42, n. 1, p. 100-129, 2010.
GRANSOW, Bettina; PRICE, Susanna. Social risk management at AIIB–Chinese or international characteristics?. Journal of Chinese Political Science, v. 24, n. 2, p. 289-311, 2019.
IKENBERRY, G. John. Liberal internationalism 3.0: America and the dilemmas of liberal world order. Perspectives on politics, v. 7, n. 1, p. 71-87, 2009.
IKENBERRY, J.; LIM, D. China? s emerging institutional statecraft: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Prospects for Counter-Hegemony. Washington: Brookings. 2017.
INDIA. Fourth BRICS Summit: Delhi Declaration. Ministry of External Affairs. 2012 Disponível em: <http://www.brics.utoronto.ca/docs/120329-delhi-declaration.html#actionplan>. Acesso em 27 ago. 2023.
JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain. China in a world of orders: Rethinking compliance and challenge in Beijing's international relations. International Security, v. 44, n. 2, p. 9-60, 2019.
JONES, Catherine. China's Challenge to Liberal Norms: The Durability of International Order. Springer, 2018.
KOCH, Martin; STETTER, Stephan. Sociological Perspectives on International Organizations and the Construction of Global Order-an Introduction. Journal of International Organizations Studies. Special Issue: Sociological Perspectives on International Organizations and the Construction of Global Order, n. 4, 2013.
LAKE, David A.; MARTIN, Lisa L.; RISSE, Thomas. Challenges to the liberal order: Reflections on international organization. International organization, v. 75, n. 2, p. 225-257, 2021.
LIANG, Wei. China’s Institutional Statecraft under Xi Jinping: Has the AIIB Served China’s Interest?. Journal of Contemporary China, v. 30, n. 128, p. 283-298, 2021.
LIM, Darren J.; IKENBERRY, G. John. China and the Logic of Illiberal Hegemony. Security Studies, v. 32, n. 1, p. 1-31, 2023.
LOWNDES, Vivien; ROBERTS, Mark. Why institutions matter: The new institutionalism in political science. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.
MANNERS, Ian. Normative power Europe: a contradiction in terms?. JCMS: Journal of common market studies, v. 40, n. 2, p. 235-258, 2002.
MARCH, James G.; OLSEN, Johan P. Rediscovering institutions. Nova York: The Free Press, 1989.
MARCH, James G.; OLSEN, Johan P. The logic of appropriateness. Oslo: Arena, 2004.
MASTANDUNO, Michael. Economic Statecraft. In: SMITH, Steve. Et al. Foreign Policy: theory, actors, cases. 3 ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
PARK, Susan. Theorizing norm diffusion within international organizations. International politics, v. 43, n. 3, p. 342-361, 2006.
PARK, Susan. Institutional isomorphism and the Asian Development Bank's accountability mechanism: something old, something new; something borrowed, something blue?. The Pacific Review, v. 27, n. 2, p. 217-239, 2014.
PEREIRA, João Márcio Mendes. Assaltando a pobreza: política e doutrina econômica na história do Banco Mundial (1944-2014). Revista de História (São Paulo), p. 235-265, 2016.
ROTHSTEIN, Bo. Political institutions: an overview. In: GOODIN, Robert E. Goodin; KLINGEMANN, Hans-Dieter. A new handbook of political science, p. 133-166, 1996.
SERRANO OSWALD, Omar Ramon. The new architects: Brazil, China, and innovation in multilateral development lending. Public Administration and Development, v. 39, n. 4-5, p. 203-214, 2019.
SCHMIDT, Vivien A. Values and Discourse in the Politics of Adjustment. In: SCHARPF, Fritz W.; SCHMIDT, Vivien A. Welfare and Work in the Open Economy, Volume I: from vulnerability to competitiveness. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 229-309.
SCHMIDT, Vivien A. Institutionalism. In: HAY, Colin; LISTER, Michael; MARSH, David. The State. Theories and Issues. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. p. 98-117.
SIKKINK, Kathryn; FINNEMORE, Martha. Taking stock: The constructivist research program in international relations and comparative politics. Annual Review of Political Science, v. 4, p. 391-416, 2001.
SOBOLEWSKI, Matthias; LANGE, Jason. US urges allies to think twice before joining China-led bank. Reuters. 2015. Disponível em: <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-asia-bank-idUSKBN0MD0B320150317>. Acesso em: 27 ago. 2023.
STUENKEL, Oliver. Post-western world. Malden, MA: Polity, 2016.
UHLIN, Anders. Civil society and policy reforms in the Asian Development Bank. In: Global Economic Governance and the Development Practices of the Multilateral Development Banks. Routledge, 2015. p. 84-103.
XING, Li; SHENGJUN, Zhang. The international political economy of the rise of China and emerging powers: Traditional perspectives and beyond. In: The Routledge Handbook to Global Political Economy. Routledge, 2020. p. 74-91.
WAN, Ming. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: The construction of power and the struggle for the East Asian international order. Springer, 2016.
WANG, Hongying. New multilateral development banks: Opportunities and challenges for global governance. Global Policy, v. 8, n. 1, p. 113-118, 2017.
WEBER, Max. Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. University of California press, 1978.
WEBER, Max. A Ética Protestante e o “Espírito” do Capitalismo. São Paulo, Editora Schwarzcz, 2004.
WEINHARDT, Clara; TEN BRINK, Tobias. Varieties of contestation: China’s rise and the liberal trade order: [Contribution to forum: China’s rise in a liberal world order in transition]. Review of International Political Economy, v. 27, n. 2, p. 258-280, 2020.
WORLD BANK. GDP, PPP (current international $) - China, United States. 2021. Disponível em: <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD?locations=CN-US>. Acesso em: 27 ago. 2023.
YUAN, Xinyu. The Chinese approach to peacebuilding: contesting liberal peace?. Third World Quarterly, v. 43, n. 7, p. 1798-1816, 2022.
ZHU, Jiejin; HU, Xinyu. Back to the Iron Cage? Institutional Isomorphism of the AIIB. International Organisations Research Journal, v. 16, n. 3, 2021.
Published
2024-08-05
How to Cite
Oliveira, O. H. A. C. de . (2024). China and the changing Liberal International Order: evidence from the AIIB and NDB. Estudos Internacionais: International Relations Journal of PUC Minas, 11(2), 24–37. https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2317-773X.2023v11n2p24-37
Issue
Section
Artigos
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a.Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
b.Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c.Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
