A Weapon of Legitimacy: China’s Integrative Power and its Impact on its Reactions on Domestic Conflicts

Abstract

The rise of China has provided a plethora of different powers it can use to its advantage, continues its rise, or punish noncompliance. Throughout the years of China's rising, it has been accumulating considerable hard power in its military and economic capabilities, while also trying to improve on its soft power of cultural values. However one often overlooked, and under-appreciated power of China is the integrative power of Chinese nationalism. This integrative power that comes from China’s acute usage of nationalism to support the legitimacy of its one-party system. This study argues that China has an excess of integrative power and that China has skillfully used it to turn unfavorable events and threats, such as the Hong Kong protests of 2019, back to their advantage; even if this would mean that China is a primary facilitator of conflict and also at times an inhibitor to the de-escalation of conflict.