Images of a Statist Ethic in “Western” and Chinese IR Theory: Locating (and Deciphering) the “Moral Realism” of the Tsinghua Approach

Abstract In this article, we identify—and interrogate—one thematic thread that is intricately woven through prominent positions within classical realism, normative international relations (IR) theory, and what Zhang Feng (2012) has called Chinese IR’s “Tsinghua approach.” This thread is the often-controversial notion of a statist ethic for international politics or an ethical perspective that grants priority to one’s state, fellow citizens, and the national interest. Positions within each of these theoretical traditions—what we label “egoistic realism” and “responsible realism” within the classical realist tradition, “communitarian realism” and “impartialist statism” within normative IR theory, and what others have described as “moral realism” within the Tsinghua approach—share a commitment to an ethical approach variously defined in terms of the protection of, and preference for, one’s state and compatriots. We take this rich collection of positions, and the points of comparison that it affords, as an opportunity to better understand the possibilities and limits of a statist ethic for international politics. Specifically, we endeavour to illustrate four points: (1) that a morality defined in terms of the priority of the state, one’s fellow citizens, and the national interest is neither impossible nor a contradiction in terms; (2) that such a perspective can constitute a sophisticated theoretical position; (3) that it can be conceived in radically different ways, including with respect to the source of value to which it appeals and who it deems to matter; and (4) that these differences have profound practical consequences. In terms of contributing to a conversation between Western and Chinese IR theory, this analysis helps us not only to explore how the “moral realism” of the Tsinghua approach relates to positions within classical realism and normative IR theory but also to evaluate the practical implications of its points of theoretical convergence and divergence.