Olympic Spirit

Those images of a glorious Beijing hosting the whole world into a birds nest had an undeniably positive impact on the rest of the world. Hosts with good manners and a tidy and luxurious front house always impress their guests, even if they engage in not so edifying practices in their own time and space. It shows that the Chinese and the rest have the same goal - a smooth and complete entry by China into the dynamics of the international community. The problem now is how to manage the Chinese ascent rather than predict it (the time for that was when Deng Xiaoping first opened the borders) or hamper it. China will definitely be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, player in international politics for the forseeable future, and, in the words of Stan Lee, 'with great power comes great responsibility'. This is the common understanding of the situation that all the relevant actors share. The only difference being that China puts more stress on the power side of the equation, seeking not to bind its hands particularly in terms of domestic politics, while the r/west treis to emphasise the responsibilities that such economic primacy has bequeathed on the middle kingdom.

So is it all a question of well-dosed international pressure? Yes and No.

The west can't push the giant off the edge and make it resort to isolationism. Even if they are dwarfed by international criticism, the policies of the chinese government have had a number of positive and liberalising effects, even in terms of political rights. The mere fact that such debates have gotten firmly into the international and chinese (albeit less so) public sphere indicates a significant improvement.

No because international law is process. This means that the way in which a country emerges on the international sphere and occupies its position in it will impact deeply on the norms that are created (or ideed eliminated) in the body of international law. As i have shown here and here everything that states do is inherently expressed and understood in terms of international law. In other words, international law is necessarily the language of international politics. Because of its horizontal structure it is a language that is in constant dynamic flux, and adopts the characteristics that those who use it most successfully impart on it. Its as if international law is a slang amongst kids: when a new big kid, a 'cool' kid, comes into the group he has to adopt the language of the group but can also shape it, introduce new words, make others disappear. In this sense, international law can engender China and China's ascent can engender international law.

We shall wait and see how everything goes. The biggest problem i perceive is related to the so called 'new international law'. The law that seeks to influence what states do to their own citizens as well as to each other. The law that impinges on state sovereignty, a weapon that the Chinese know how to wield extremely well and will hold on to for dear life in their ascent to superpowerdom.