Chinese Intellectuals’ Perspectives on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Emre Demir

doi:10.37880/cumuiibf.1179664

EN TR

Chinese Intellectuals’ Perspectives on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

The Russia-Ukraine war, its reasons and impact have been discussed by diplomats, politicians and intellectuals worldwide. While many accuse the Russian leadership and in particular Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war, some others criticize Western countries and principally the US for NATO’s eastward expansion and for disregarding Russia’s security concerns. Chinese intellectuals with diverse academic and political backgrounds have also contributed to these discussions and offered their assessments about the war in Ukraine as well as what kind of a policy China should follow. However, because of the sensitive relationship between the authoritarian party-state and Chinese intellectuals, Chinese intellectuals are in a delicate situation compared to intellectuals in the West. Despite this, the Chinese state’s relatively balanced and neutral stance and decision of not openly taking sides in the war provided a ground for Chinese intellectuals to publicly share their thoughts about both the war itself and China’s position towards Russia’s aggression. Nevertheless, due to its close relationship with Moscow, the Chinese state allows only a restricted space for intellectuals to share their views about the war, especially to anti-Russia voices. This study surveys these debates among Chinese intellectuals about the war in Ukraine as well as the policies that the Chinese leadership should follow.

Keywords

Çinli Aydınların Rusya'nın Ukrayna İşgali Üzerine Görüşleri

Öz

Rusya-Ukrayna savaşı, savaşın nedenleri ve etkileri dünyanın dört bir yanındaki diplomatlar, politikacılar ve aydınlar tarafından tartışılmaktadır. Tartışmaya katılanları birçoğu savaşın gerekçesi olarak Rus liderliğini ve özellikle Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin'i gösterirken, bazıları ise Batılı ülkeleri, özellikle de ABD'yi NATO'nun doğuya doğru genişlemesi ve Rusya'nın güvenlik kaygılarını göz ardı etmeleri nedeniyle eleştirmektedir. Farklı akademik ve siyasi arka planlara sahip Çinli aydınlar da bu tartışmalara katılarak Ukrayna'daki savaş ve Çin'in nasıl bir politika izlemesi gerektiği konusunda değerlendirmelerde bulunmuşlardır. Ancak otoriter parti-devleti ile Çinli aydınlar arasındaki hassas ilişki nedeniyle Çinli aydınlar Batı'daki aydınlara göre hassas bir konumdadır. Buna rağmen Çin devletinin savaş karşısında gösterdiği görece dengeli ve tarafsız duruş ve savaşta açıkça taraf tutmama kararı, Çinli aydınların hem savaş hem de Çin'in Rusya'nın saldırganlığına karşı tutumu hakkındaki düşüncelerini kamuoyu önünde paylaşmalarına zemin hazırladı. Bununla birlikte Çin devleti, Moskova ile sahip olduğu yakın ilişki nedeniyle Çinli entelektüellerin, özellikle de Rusya karşıtı görüşe sahip olanların, savaş hakkındaki görüşlerini paylaşmaları için yalnızca sınırlı bir alan açmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Çinli aydınlar arasında Ukrayna'daki savaş ve Çin liderliğinin izlemesi gereken politikalar ile ilgili tartışmaları incelemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Thanks

Yazar, katkıları için Sırma Altun'a teşekkürlerini sunar.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

International Relations

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Emre Demir ^*
0000-0002-9580-863X
Türkiye

Publication Date

January 16, 2023

Submission Date

September 24, 2022

Acceptance Date

December 20, 2022

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Volume: 24 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1179664

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA96KP84TX

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Demir, E. (2023). Chinese Intellectuals’ Perspectives on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine. Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi Ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 24(1), 72-84. https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1179664