Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 7, 2023

Global History and the Expansion of Historical Research in International Relations

(Abstract)

Liu Debin

In the face of the continuous major change unseen in a century, studies of global history that go beyond Eurocentrism have provided many insights into the expansion of historical pathways in the study of international relations. They reveal a history in which non-Western countries have been obscured and simplified by the “rise of the West” and bring the “ground color” of today’s world into sharper focus. Their research themes are highly attuned to the topics of international relations in the era of globalization, providing a broader intellectual background for the advancement and theoretical innovation of international relations. Their efforts to explain and reconstruct the history of the nation-state have not only enriched the understanding of the nation-state, but have also provided a different discourse on world history for reflecting on and critiquing Western theories of international relations. In addition, in the context of global history, China’s own historical development provides a historical basis for transcending the logic of the rise-and-fall pattern of Western powers, while the Chinese initiative to build a human community with a shared future provides a constant impetus for the theoretical innovation of international relations.