| Abstract: | 這是一項為期兩年的研究計畫，主題是探討中華人民共和國與國際人權建制（以聯 合國人權制度為代表）自 1970 年代以來相互抗爭、卻又相互構成的複雜關係。本計畫 至終將出版一本英文專書；以出版人權學術書籍著名的美國賓州大學出版社已對本人的 計畫表達了願意出版的高度興趣。在專書出版之前，本計畫將先發表四篇英文國際學術 會議論文，與兩篇英文期刊文章，預定各由 World Politics 與 China Quarterly 這兩本世 界頂尖的國際期刊出版。 本計畫針對以下的問題作出實證上的研究：中華人民共和國的官方人權制度－包括 受黨國體制主導的人權研究機構、人權論述與宣傳、及人權外交政策與策略－ 為何並 如何在已過四十年產生明顯地（但絕非劇烈地）變化？ 而國際人權規範與建制又是如 何因為中國自 1980 年代以來的持續參與而受到影響？簡言之，本計畫試圖了解中國決 定與國際人權建制進行交往（engagement）的國內思想與制度因素、以及因為交往而導 致的國內制度成效、國家行為影響、與國際制度效應。在參考 Abdelal 與其合作者所提 出的認同政治研究架構之後，本人針對中國與國際人權建制的複雜互構關係提出一個身 分導向建構主義的詮釋架構。與現有國際關係建構主義理論的研究取向有所不同，本人 不只將國際規範的解釋能力視為一個需要被證明或證偽的實證問題，並且也同樣注意國 家身分認同（state identity）是否能夠解釋中國對普世人權之概念與制度的政策。 本學術專書研究計畫將對國家社會化過程的研究做出實證與概念上的重大貢獻，因 此將對國際關係學（建構主義國關理論與國際規範研究）、中國研究（國家社會關係研 究）、人權研究、與比較政治學（比較威權政體研究）的學術發展帶來助益。就實際面 而言，本人的研究將對國際人權倡議社群成員的中國政策有所幫助，也能為台灣的兩岸 政策提供重要的參考。
My project aims to interpret the contentious, yet co-constitutive, relationship of People’s Republic of China and the international human rights regime, as represented by the United Nations human rights institutions, from the 1970s to the present. The final product of this research project is an English book, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, presumably in 2014. During the interval, I also promise four conference papers and two original papers published by World Politics and China Quarterly. Drawing on the identity-based Constructivism and mixed approaches, my research investigates ideational determinants, institutional effects and behavioral impact of China’s engagement with the international human rights regime. Based on the analytic framework of identity studies designed by Abdelal, Herrera, Johnston, and McDermott, I devise an interpretive framework, a revision of that of Abdelal et. al., that illustrates and rigorously interprets the constitutive relationship between the Chinese state identity of the time and China’s policy to the conception and institution of universal human rights. In particular, my project addresses the following under-appreciated questions: Why and how has China’s official human rights institution (including state-controlled discourses and policies on human rights, in both domestic governance and foreign relations) changed substantially, if not dramatically, throughout the past four decades? How, if any, has China’s participation in the international human rights regime implicated the normative and practical development of global governance in the dimension of human rights? I present a Constructivist interpretation of the phenomenon of co-constitution between international human rights regime and the Chinese government. Unlike the majority of existing Constructivist work in the field of International Relations that presuppose and disproportionately emphasize the normative and regulatory power of international regime, I treat the issue as an empirical question, and pay equal attention to the constitutive influence of domestic ideational imperatives in shaping China’s rights policy. I argue that the development of China’s human rights institution and policy—or lack thereof, as of during the 1970s—is a function of the evolution of China’s state identity, as unfolding in the international normative order that grants legitimacy and status to state actors. By posing refreshing questions and presenting rigorous interpretations, the project promises to revitalize the scholarly understanding of the process of state socialization, and hence will make substantial contributions to International Relations (particularly International Theory and International Norm Studies), China Studies (especially the studies on state-society relations in China), Human Rights Studies, and Comparative Politics (especially its Comparative Authoritarianism Studies). At the practical end, my research will certainly benefit stakeholders of the global community of human rights advocacy in their engagement with the Chinese government. On a further note, the project will bring valuable insights to Taiwan’s policy formation of cross-strait relations. |
