Abstract: The paper explores discursive power and related concepts (institutional power, normative power, epistemic power) as an important part of contemporary PRC foreign strategy. As Westphalian identity carries certain risks for Beijing, China is actively trying to reconceptualize its identity through the development of epistemic power, its main manifestation being the emergence of the Chinese IR school. China’s two main strategies of interaction with the Western IR theory are (1) transcending its parochiality through inclusion of Chinese concepts and research methods and (2) creating radical alternatives to Western IR theory. At a more fundamental level of theorizing about non-Western IR, the former strategy is broadly aligned with the project of “global IR” and the latter with a decolonial/postcolonial approach to IR. Decolonial hermeneutics allows for revealing the main shortcomings of “global IR” and the underlying epistemic culture, as well as for examining problems that arise from China's accumulation of discursive power. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that there are three potential strategies of the PRC: Westphalian discursivity, Westphalian discursivity with Chinese characteristics, and critical discursivity. The first two strategies can potentially lead China into the trap of discursive power: trying to resist Western discursive aggression through accumulation of discursive power, Beijing begins to internalize power structures and narratives inherent in the Western political model or romanticize alternative systems for the reproduction of power in imperial China, hence reinforcing international suspicions regarding its true intentions and taking a less advantageous strategic position. The paper proposes a number of ways out of this trap (development of cooperation with countries of the global South, interaction with their epistemic cultures, critical rethinking of modern Chinese concepts of international relations).

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Tao political philosophy of the ancient Chinese text of “Tao Te Ching” as a source of Chinese strategy. The author expounds three aspects of the Tao philosophy: administrative (perception of ideal form of government and political legitimacy), military-diplomatic (preferred types of interaction with other actors and stance on war as a political instrument), and geopolitical-geocultural (perception of culture in its place in the world and correlation of cultural mission with beingness of other actors withing the framework of certain world politics configuration). The scientific novelty of this research consists in a complex analysis of the “Tao Te Ching” texts as a potential paradigm of Chinese strategic culture. “Tao Te Ching” preaches noninvolvement as a method of government and criteria of political legitimacy, defensive pacifism and world politics model of global community of smaller states. A conclusion is made on the importance of study of the influence of Tao paradigm upon the strategy of Chinese national movements for solution of the problem of political strategic agency.

Abstract: The article considers the views on the war presented in "Mozi", the ancient Chinese philosophical treatise. The relevance of the study is derived from the manifestation of the Mohist paradigm of strategic culture in the modern Chinese foreign policy, in particular, with regard to defenñe of the State and control over problem areas (South China Sea). The purpose of the research is to consider the specifics of ancient Chinese ethics of war in the context of the Western theory of Just War as well as to reveal the importance of Mohist views on war for the modern theory of international relations and China's foreign policy strategy. The material of the study includes "Mozi" text as well as official statements of the modern leaders of China. The study applies both methods of world political science (content analysis, study of documents, case method) and methods of philosophy (dialectical, hermeneutic, pragmatic). In contrast to the "liberal "and "conservative" interpretations of Mo Di's doctrine expressed by researchers of Mohist political philosophy, the author of this article makes a conclusion about the practice-oriented approach of ancient Chinese philosophy and "moral practice" as a criterion of political legitimacy. The author makes a comparison of the Mohist ethics of war with the Western theory of Just War and concludes that they are conceptually close. However, "Mozi" is much closer to the ideas of defensive pacifism due to the specifics of the Mohist ideas about the legitimate actor. Among other distinctive features of Mo Di's political doctrine are the focus on highly sophisticated defence, the idea of "humanitarian protection", humanism and mutually beneficial cooperation as a guarantee of international security. At the current stage, elements of the Mohist ideas about the war and the Mohist paradigm of Chinese strategic culture are manifested in the Chinese defensive concept A2AD.