China, India and the Future of International Society

China and India have huge potential to exert global influence due to their geography, population size and material resources. Now their spectacular economic growth has led many commentators to predict a shift in power from West to East and the dawn of an “Asian century” based on Asian values. But what are these values? Does economic power neatly translate into political power? Will China and India wish to challenge the existing ethical framework of international society?

This volume argues that it is vital to understand how China and India view international society in order to anticipate their impact as they achieve ascendancy. It explores the evolution of these states’ attitudes towards concepts such as sovereignty, international society, power transitions, normative power, and ethical trends, and addresses how they have sought to promote their own normative identities and policy agenda thus far. Unpicking common assumptions about these rising powers, this book engages in a systematic consideration of the ethical attitudes of China and India in the national context and goes on to examine how those translate into their interactions with international society.