11th ALEKSANTERI CONFERENCE: "THE DRAGON AND THE BEAR: STRATEGIC CHOICES
OF CHINA AND RUSSIA"
9th-11th November 2011, University of Helsinki, Finland
http://www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/conference2011/Over the past two decades, Russia and China have both experienced
extensive socio-economic and political transformation, as well as
foreign policy reorientation. Within the framework of "transition
studies", these developments have naturally been a rather popular
subject of academic study and applied research. However, only a few
scholars have studied the post-Communist developments in Russia and
China in comparative perspective. The 11th Aleksanteri Conference
compares Russia?s and China?s transformation from three interrelated
perspectives: socio-economic system, political system, and international
system.
The outcomes of the Chinese and Russian reforms differ considerably.
From a social and economic impact perspective, the "Chinese way" has
undoubtedly been a great success. For almost three decades now, the
averaged annual growth rates of the Chinese GDP and industrial added
value have been about 10%, far higher than the world average. Over the
same period, the annual net income per capita, calculated at comparable
prices, has increased more than five times both in urban and rural areas.
In sharp contrast, Russia's economic development after the collapse of
the Soviet Union was characterised by a sudden decrease of GDP and
industrial output, followed by major problems throughout the 1990s,
leading to the crash in 1998. This development naturally resulted in
major negative social consequences. Only since 1999, mainly due to the
1998 devaluation effect and extremely high energy prices, Russian
economy has been on a growth track and, even hit hard by the financial
crisis in 2008, is expected to grow also in the nearest future.
Why have Russia and China chosen such different paths for their
post-Communist transitions? How do their strategies differ, how do these
resemble each other and are they interrelated? When - at what junctures
- were the crucial choices made? And what are the strategic choices yet
to be made by Russia and China? What are the alternatives, how are they
constructed, and what are the internal and external settings that
constrain the choices between different policy lines?
The thesis that the economic development of large countries can produce
major power shifts in international politics is widespread and generally
accepted. There are many speculations that suggest that China, after it
has become the most important regional economic and military power in
East Asia, will ultimately become the strongest great power in the
world. By contrast, much of the literature on Russia points out that the
country with its rather modest economic power (despite its energy
resources) is doomed to be a declining great power. However, while
Russia's military capacity cannot be compared to that of the Soviet
Union, it still remains a major military (nuclear) power by any
yardstick and can at least play a crucial role regionally.
The rapprochement of Russia and China is one of the most significant
post-Cold War developments in international relations. In 2001, the
close relations between the two countries were formalised with the
Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, a twenty-year
strategic, economic, and controversially, an implicit military treaty. A
month prior to that, the two countries joined in the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation, which is an intergovernmental mutual-security
organisation. In addition to China and Russia, its members are
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The SCO focuses on
tackling the main threats it confronts such as being terrorism,
separatism, and extremism. Most recently, socio-economic aspects have
been added to its agenda.
In August 2010, Russia opened its section of a 1,000km oil pipeline from
eastern Siberia to China. The pipe connects Russian oil fields with
Daqing, a major oil production base in northeastern China. Both sides
hailed the move as a "new era" in co-operation and have stated that this
is only a beginning of a new chapter in their bilateral relations. As
yet however, economic integration between the countries remains rather
moderate.
In order to address these fundamental developments in global economy and
politics, the Aleksanteri Institute will host the 11th Aleksanteri
Conference on 9-11th November 2011 at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
AIMS
The conference will emphasize a multidisciplinary and comparative
approach and bring forth new interpretations on the different strategic
choices of the two giants and their mutual relations.
Hence, conference participation is open to a broad array of
international scholars from the political and social sciences,
economics, the law, and the arts and humanities. Additionally, due to
the obvious economic and policy relevancy of the topic, representatives
of the public and private sectors are also invited to contribute in the
panels and roundtable discussions.
THEMES
* HISTORY AND CHANGE: converging and diverging models of communism
and transition
* INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK: Cold War legacy, spheres of influence,
integration, bilateral relations
* ECONOMY: transformation models, FDIs, legal framework, state
ownership and the entrepreneurial environment
* DEMOCRACY: aspects of authoritarianism and democracy,
institutions, elites, practices of governance
* SOCIAL BALANCE: socio-economic and welfare development
* CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY: national crisis management
systems and their implications to regional security balance
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
* Prof., Associate Dean Jin Canrong, School of International
Studies, Renmin University of China
* Prof. Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College, California
* Dr., Director Dmitri Trenin, Carnegie Moscow Center
* Prof. Wang Xiaoju, Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND DEADLINES
* Proposals for panels (approx. 500 words): May 31st, 2011
* Abstracts for individual papers (approx. 300 words): May 31st, 2011
* Notification of Acceptance: June 30th, 2011
* Publication of the conference programme: September 2011
* Conference: 9-11th, November 2011
Please submit your abstract and contact information through the abstract
submission form:
https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/26504/lomake.htmor panel proposal submission form:
https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/26506/lomake.html.
For further assistance or more details, please see the conference web site
http://www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/conference2011/or contact the Conference Coordinators at
[email protected] .
The Aleksanteri Conference is an annual, multidisciplinary,
international conference organised by the Aleksanteri Institute, the
Finnish Centre for Russian and Eastern European Studies, affiliated with
the University of Helsinki. Aleksanteri Conferences have attracted broad
interest among researchers and policy-makers in a wide variety of
disciplines, both in Finland and abroad, interested in the development
of post-socialist countries.