Nation Building Processes and Bilateral Relations Between China and Türkiye: Comparison of 20th and 21st Centuries


Duan J., Aydın H.

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, vol.26, no.5, pp.659-680, 2024 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 26 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/19448953.2024.2308973
  • Journal Name: Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Historical Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, Index Islamicus, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.659-680
  • Keywords: China, Nation building process, Neoliberal world order, Türkiye
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Given that China and Türkiye are direct successors of former empires, i.e., the Qing and Ottoman Empires, they share common feelings of century-long Western humiliation, constrained maritime space, and unfinished territorial unification in modern times. However, the two countries chose divergent paths of modern national building, which result in their turbulent bilateral relations in the 20th century. While the old structural disagreements are not completely fading away, China and Türkiye have tended to build a more cooperative relations in 21st century as both of them struggle to adapt to the common challenges of neoliberal world order, which leads to more convergences than divergences in their second nation building process. Based on this historical comparison, this paper suggests that the nation building processes and its reflections on foreign affairs are the structural factor in China-Türkiye relations, which defined potential issues of cooperation and division between the two countries in different times.