Preview

Bulletin of the State University of Education. Series: History and Political Sciences

Advanced search

The civilization approach in the philosophical-political discourse of the PRC

https://doi.org/10.18384/2949-5164-2025-2-77-90

Abstract

Aim. To examine the features of the civilizational approach in the philosophical-political discourse of the PRC within the context of forming a multipolar world order. The paper aims to analyze the genealogy of this approach, which emphasizes the uniqueness of cultural models and offers an alternative to Western-style universalist concepts, as well as to identify the specifics of its Chinese interpretation. Special attention is given to the analysis of traditional philosophical foundations of cultural conceptualization in China and their contemporary political-theoretical projections. The study seeks to demonstrate how the Chinese version of the civilizational approach forms a theoretical basis for alternative models of global order amid the crisis of Western hegemony.
Metodology. The study is based on a systemic-historical approach to analyzing the civilizational approach in Chinese philosophical and political discourse. The historical-genetic method was em- ployed by researchers to identify the origins and evolution of this approach. Through discourse analysis, the semantic structures of modern concepts such as "geocivilization" and the "civilizational state" have been revealed. Historical-theoretical analysis of classical Chinese philosophical texts demonstrates their continuity in contemporary political discourse. 
Results. The study reveals that contemporary multipolarity emerges as a response to the crisis of the Western model of globalization, with the Chinese civilizational approach offering an alternative para- digm for the world order. It is established that the civilizational approach in its Chinese interpretation combines traditional philosophical concepts with modern political theories, forming a unique model of a “civilization-state”. The research demonstrates that the concepts of “geocivilization” and “civilization-state” in the PRC serve as a theoretical justification for a multipolar world order, emphasizing cultural specificity as the foundation of political sovereignty. It is proven that the Chinese version of the civilizational approach proposes a fundamentally different, non-Western model of global governance based on the recognition of cultural diversity and the rejection of universal development standards.
Research implication. The study expands the understanding of multipolar world formation by provid- ing a theoretical framework for examining the phenomenon of the “civilization-state” at the inter- section of traditional Chinese philosophy and modern political doctrines. The practical value of the research lies in offering analytical tools for interpreting the foreign policy strategies of the PRC and other non-Western centers of power, which is particularly relevant amid the transformation of the international order. The findings can be applied in developing alternative models of global governance based on the recognition of cultural diversity and civilizational specificity across different world regions.

About the Authors

O. A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya
Russian State University for the Humanities; Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation

Olga A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya – Cand. Sci. (History), Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Expert, Ivan Ilyin Higher Political School Educational and Scientific Center

Miusskaya pl. 6, Moscow 125047

Dvortsovaya nab. 18, St. Petersburg 191181



P. A. Tugarinov
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation

Pavel A. Tugarinov – Senior Researcher, the State Museum of the History of Religion, Analyst, Ivan Ilyin Higher Political School Educational and Scientific Center

Miusskaya pl. 6, Moscow 125047



References

1. Dugin, A. G. (2024). Westernology: Towards a Sovereign Russian Science. In: Bulletin of the State Uni- versity of Education. Series: History and Political Sciences, 3, 7–21 (in Russ.).

2. Zavadskaya, E. V. (1982). The Mission of the Word in the “Lun Yu”. In: Confucianism in China: Prob- lems of Theory and Practice. Moscow: Nauka Publ., pp. 36–45 (in Russ.).

3. Kachkin, I. V. (2024). "State – Civilization" in the Assessments of Foreign Researchers: The Debate between East and West. In: Bulletin of the Voronezh State University, 2, 47–50 (in Russ.).

4. Lisevich, I. S. (1979). Literary Thought of China at the Turn of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Moscow: Nauka Publ. (in Russ.).

5. Migunova, O. V. (2023). The Problem of Spiritual and Civilizational Transformations in Modern Chi- nese Social Philosophy [dissertation]. SPb.(in Russ.).

6. Migunov, N. I. & Migunova, O. V. (2017). On the Theoretical Foundations of the Chinese Concept of "Geo-Civilizational Continuum”. In: The Age of Globalization, 2, 20–36 (in Russ.).

7. Perelomov, L. S. (1998). Confucius “Lun Yu”. Moscow: Vostochnaya literature Publ. (in Russ.).

8. Torchinov, E. A. (1995). Culture as the Sacred (the category of wen in the Chinese tradition). In: The Sacred in Culture. St. Petersburg, pp. 92–94 (in Russ.).

9. [Philosophy. Vol. 1]. In: Titarenko M. L. (2006), ed. Spiritual Culture of China: Encyclopedia. Moscow: Vostochnaya literature Publ. pp. 192–194 (in Russ.).

10. Zhang, Weiwei (2023). China, the Civilizational State Narrative and its Implications. In: Russian Sinol- ogy, 2, 7–15 (in Russ.).

11. Zhang, Weiwei (2021). Xin bainian xin Zhongguo. Beijing: Dongfang chubanshe.


Review

Views: 5


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2949-5156 (Print)
ISSN 2949-5164 (Online)