Political World Exploration

Author: Ren Donglai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Politics is merely a managed public space in which individuals exist. For individuals, this public space can range from their small community to the sacred national family. For a nation or country, this public space can range from a specific international organization to the abstract global society. With the existence of a public space, power arises to manage the relationships between individuals and groups, identity emerges to recognize different groups, and order is established to maintain the relationships between individuals and groups, as well as among different groups. Thus, power, identity, and order form the three core elements of politics, whose essence lies in how to distribute always limited resources and benefits in a society that never satisfies. The five sets of papers in this collection are primarily based on case studies and arguments, exploring five aspects—international institutions, great power politics, interethnic conflicts, China-U.S. relations, rule of law and constitutionalism, and academic politics—to illustrate the content, nature, and significance of the political world. The issues discussed are largely unaddressed or insufficiently explored in domestic academia, and the text is also highly readable.