《The Journal of International Studies》
No. 05, 66–81, 2015
The dissemination of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence
YUAN Zhengqing, SONG Xiaoqin
Abstract The study of international norms is an important topic in the international politics. Western theories tend to emphasize the top-down instruction at the international level and learning at the state level, and empirical studies focus on the dissemination of Western norms to the rest of the world. Consequently, the role of non-Western countries is neglected in the process of norm dissemination. The dissemination of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence offers an excellent opportunity to examine the behaviors of non-Western countries. The Five Principles proposed by China was neither imposed forcibly upon other countries nor intended to educate others in a condescending manner with a so-called “civilized” standard. Instead, the Five Principles started to disseminate in the process of equal interactions with the neighboring countries with similar experiences in history. Gradually, it embedded itself into more international meetings and treaties through establishing diplomatic relations, convening international meetings, participating in international organizations and offering foreign aid and expanded from ideologically similar countries into ideologically divergent ones.
Keywords Chinese politics and diplomacy, Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, international law, international norm, dissemination
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