Theoretical Rigor and the Study of Contemporary Cases: Explaining Post-Cold War China-Russia Relations

Date

2020-02-06

Authors

Yoder, Brandon

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Volume Title

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan Ltd

Abstract

It has been widely noted that China and Russia have grown progressively closer over the last two decades. Although the scholarly literature has offered detailed descriptions and various ad hoc explanations of this trend, the Sino-Russian bilateral relationship has been the subject of very little scrutiny using rigorous theory, which has obstructed hypothesis formation and evaluation. Moreover, the cooperative post-Cold War trend in the bilateral relationship seems puzzling for baseline versions of each of the major paradigms of international relations theory: realism, constructivism and liberalism. The papers in this special issue develop and apply nuanced theoretical arguments to derive testable hypotheses for the cooperative trend in China–Russia relations. In contrast to existing scholarship, these papers offer generalizable insights that both improve our understanding of a crucially important contemporary case, while also advancing IR theory in substantial ways.

Description

Keywords

International relations theory, China-Russia relations, Causality, Qualitative methods, US-China relations, US-Russia relations

Citation

Yoder, B.K. Theoretical rigor and the study of contemporary cases: explaining post-cold war China–Russia relations. Int Polit 57, 741–759 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-019-00173-z

Source

International Politics: a journal of transnational issues and global problems

Type

Journal article

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Restricted until

2099-12-31