ABSTRACT
In analysing identity as a factor in China-Europe relations, this chapter details the merits of engaging the issue through the framework of ontological security, an approach that focuses on the need for actors in the international system to obtain a stable sense of who they are as a polity. Briefly reviewing the literature on ontological security, and situating the book in a number of intra-theoretical debates, the chapter argues for expanding the theoretical framework through three concepts reflecting particular modalities of Chinese ontological security seeking: The extent to which materiality informs ontological security status by engaging with economic functionality as one possible mode of ontological security seeking, the effects of basing a polity's foundational narrative on universalism or particularism, and the relevance of external recognition and face. Reflecting on the fact that, as with international relations (IRs) theory in general, the extant literature on identity has focused on a relatively homogenous group of cases, namely, Western Westphalian nation-states, the chapter argues that this in-depth case study of China contributes saliently to the ongoing expansion of the horizons of scholarship in IR.
