Abstract

3 Theoretical Construction, Practical Exploration and World Significance of the Holistic Approach to National Security

FU Xiaoqiang

[Abstract] The holistic approach to national security adheres to the basic position of Marxism, inherits and expands the practical exploration and theoretical experience of the Communist Party of China in safeguarding national security since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, absorbs and adapts the gist of China’s excellent traditional culture as regards how to build a stable and prosperous country, as well as draws deep lessons from the rise and fall of great powers. This fully embodies the inclusive, advanced, integrated, reflective, and people-oriented nature of the holistic approach to national security, and signifies that the Party’s understanding of the basic laws of national security has reached a new height. Over the past decade, under the guidance of the holistic approach to national security, China’s national security work in the new era has made historic achievements with the national security leadership mechanism, the rule of law system, the strategy management system and policymaking system being continuously improved. As a result, the Party and the country have withstood a great many political, economic, ideological and natural risks and challenges due to the higher level of modernization of the national security governance. The holistic approach to national security reflects China’s global vision and mission as a responsible major country in an effort to contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to innovating concepts and forms of national security, enriching national security path choices of all countries, addressing difficult problems in the modernization process, and maintaining world peace and stability.

[Keywords] holistic approach to national security, theoretical construction, practical exploration, world significance

[Author] FU Xiaoqiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Research Center for the Holistic Approach to National Security, Vice President and Researcher of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (Beijing, 100081).

25 Upholding Fundamental Principles and Breaking New Ground: The Experience Summaryand Normative Goals in China’s New Security Architecture

WANG Yuehe and HUANG Dahui

[Abstract] For the first time, the report of the Twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China devotes one chapter to the issue of national security,placing national security at a high position in the overall context of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The session also puts forward a clear-cut overall plan for constructing new security architecture to better safeguard China’s new pattern of development, which is not supposed to simply repeat the existing theory or abandon the past experience. In terms of “upholding fundamental principles”, the new security architecture is an integration of China’s historical and practical experience. From the perspective of historical institutionalism, the integration is a process of institutional layering. The new security architecture has gradually come into being through phases of establishment, gradual progress and breakthrough, which balances internal and external coordination and integrates multiple functions. At the same time, the new security architecture incorporates the real-life experience of national security practices under the guidance of the holistic approach to national security, which is reflected in the application of the systemic thinking, bottom-line thinking and highest limit thinking to prevent security risks. In terms of “breaking new ground”, the new security architecture is to upgrade the national security system and its leadership mechanism so as to achieve the normative goals of maintaining long-term social stability and strengthening the national security system and capacity. The construction of the new security architecture is an endogenously driven path of innovation in line with the new pattern of development that aims to fulfill the systemic goal of creating an “overall linked and highly efficient” national security system and the status goal of achieving solid and resilient social security and more effective public security governance, as well as protecting China’s overseas interests.

[Keywords] China’s new security architecture, holistic approach to national security,national security system, national security institutional evolvement

[Authors] WANG Yuehe, Ph.D. Candidate of the School of International Studies,Renmin University of China; HUANG Dahui, Professor of the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China (Beijing, 100872).

51 A Ten-Year Review of Theoretical Research on National Securitysince the Proposal of the Holistic Approach to National Security

LI Wenliang

[Abstract] The theoretical study of national security in the Chinese academic community can be traced back to the 1990s. In 2014, after the holistic approach to national security was put forward, the theoretical study of national security began to have a basic guideline to follow, marking its entry into a new era. In 2024, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the holistic approach to national security, national security studies in Chinese academia have formed a new pattern of taking the holistic approach to national security as the guide, the theoretical research on national security as the main task, and the independent exploration of China’s localized theoretical system of national security as the goal. The connotations of the holistic approach to national security have been constantly enriched and deepened with the research object of national security and the positioning of the discipline being increasingly clarified, the localization of theories of national security being further manifested, the theoretical construction of national security being significantly improved, and the construction of national security studies as a first-level discipline being steadily advanced. China is currently facing unprecedented security challenges,which requires the theoretical research on national security to rise to the occasion and make its due historical contribution. Therefore, China’s academic community needs to do “deep” theoretical research on national security in order to expand its depth, do “specialized” theoretical research on national security in order to broaden its breadth and do “instrumental” theoretical research on national security to highlight its effectiveness.

[Keywords] holistic approach to national security, national security studies, security theory with Chinese characteristics, review and outlook of theoretical research

[Author] LI Wenliang, Professor of the Department of Public Administration, School of National Security Studies, University of International Relations (Beijing, 100091).

71 China’s National Security Studies: Generation Logic, System Innovation and Future Prospect

XIAO Xi and LIU Zhichen

[Abstract] The establishment of national security studies as a first-level discipline is not only an inevitable requirement to respond to the development of the new era, but also an important part of the overall strategic layout of national security. The changing times have endowed national security studies with precious opportunities to develop,the overall strategic layout of national security has given fresh inner impetus to the disciplinary construction of national security studies that regard intersectionality as its key feature. At present, under the guidance of the overall thinking, particularly the interdisciplinary thinking, national security studies have greatly improved its academic stance and uniqueness in the construction of the discipline system. The construction of the discipline system should start from specific national conditions and pay enough attention to disciplinary connotations. In the construction of the discourse system, arguments and judgements should be made in a convincing and proper way, constantly exploring innovations that contribute to developing a unique path of China’s national security studies. Looking ahead, it is necessary for the discipline to firmly follow the holistic approach to national security, further explore the cross-disciplinary research paradigm based on its strategic and political attributes,facilitate the construction of an independent knowledge system and an academic community in national security studies, and promote the further high-quality development of the discipline.

[Keywords] national security studies, disciplinary construction, holistic approach to national security, three systems

[Authors] XIAO Xi, Director of the Institute of National Development and Security Studies, Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, Jilin University; LIU Zhichen, Ph.D. Candidate of the Institute of National Development and Security Studies, Jilin University (Changchun, 130012).

96 A Decade of Progress in China’s Traditional Security Studies

ZUO Xiying and YAO Huanyu

[Abstract] Over the past decade since the proposal of the holistic approach to national security, traditional security studies in China have made significant progress. In terms of research topics, these studies have primarily focused on such major issues as regional conflicts, territorial disputes, alliance politics and partnerships, nuclear issues,space strategy and cybersecurity, and security order. Theoretically, the past ten years have witnessed remarkable advances in studies of the micro, meso, and macro levels of theory within China’s traditional security research. Overall, the level of research and internationalization in China’s traditional security studies has made great improvement over the past decade. Chinese scholars have developed some important theories that have had quite an impact on the international academic community. Progress has also been made in research methods, talent echelon, and the construction of academic communities within the field. However, challenges still remain: on one hand, theoretical innovation still lags behind China’s diplomatic practices and struggles to meet the requirements for building an independent knowledge system; on the other hand, the field faces issues of disciplinary fragmentation and academic bubbles. Looking forward, Chinese traditional security studies should closely address the significant issues facing China and the world,emphasize the extraction and summarization of Chinese experiences, and safeguard the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through theoretical innovation.

[Keywords] holistic approach to national security, traditional security studies,independent knowledge system, war and conflict

[Authors] ZUO Xiying, Professor of the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China; YAO Huanyu, Ph.D. Candidate of the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China (Beijing, 100872).

119 Geopolitics and Non-traditional Security Studies over the PastDecade in China

LI Kaisheng

[Abstract] Non-traditional security studies (NTSS) that oppose state-centrism and the logic of zero-sum competition are usually considered as the contradiction to geopolitics that underlines international competition and confrontation. However, the world is witnessing now the return and intensification of geopolitics: the US containment against China in the name of the Indo-Pacific strategy, the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the largest regional war since the end of the Cold War and the sudden outbreak of a new round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. NTSS has been profoundly impacted by the return of geopolitics, such non-traditional security issues as international trade, environmental protection, science cooperation and energy security are increasingly distorted by the zero-sum thinking and becoming the tools of power competition. By reviewing China’s non-traditional security research results since 2014, it can be found that only a small number of results have touched the topic of securitization of non-traditional security issues, and most of the studies still cling to the existing concepts and paradigms, largely overlooking the return of geopolitics and its great influences. In the future, NTSS must be more realistic and target-oriented in the reconstruction of its academic significance and practical value by rediscovering geopolitics-related security facts and improving the research framework.

[Keywords] non-traditional security, geopolitics, transformation of non-traditional security studies, great power security relations

[Author] LI Kaisheng, Vice President and Researcher of the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies (Shanghai, 200233).

139Concepts and Practices of China’s Participation in the Middle East Security Governance in the New Era

LIU Zhongmin and XU Zhangmin

[Abstract] Since entering the new era, China has been firmly adhering to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and actively supporting the construction of a new security architecture in the Middle East. In participating in traditional security governance in the Middle East and helping resolve regional conflicts, China has been striving for peaceful dialogue and consultation to address hot-spot issues in the Middle East in a fair and reasonable manner, and built a collective security framework that takes into account legitimate concerns of all parties. In terms of improving the regional security environment, China has been focusing on those major security conflicts in the Middle East, following the trend of regional countries seeking détente and development, which helps China broker a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023 that leads to resumption of full diplomatic relations. When it comes to non-traditional security governance, China and Middle Eastern countries have been working together to enhance their capacities to cope with non-traditional security threats and jointly safeguard the rights and interests of developing countries. In short, in the process of participating in security governance of the Middle East, China has developed its own concepts and experiences of replacing exclusive security, isolated security and competitive security with common security, comprehensive security and cooperative security, thus playing an increasingly important and constructive role in the Middle East security affairs.

[Keywords] new era, Middle East security, traditional security, non-traditional security, Global Security Initiative

[Authors] LIU Zhongmin, Professor of Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University; XU Zhangmin, Ph.D. Candidate, School of International Studies and Public Affairs, Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University (Shanghai, 200083).