China's political narratives and Antarctic diplomacy

Abstract

ABSTRACT China has become an important player in Antarctic governance. Nevertheless, it still has not legislated a law on Antarctica or issued any strategy for its Antarctic activities. As political narratives play an important role in shaping policies, this paper conducted a critical discourse analysis of six key political narratives in China’s politics and diplomacy to assess their implications to China and the Antarctic Treaty System. This paper concludes that the narratives do not contradict the Antarctic Treaty’s core values, but the nationalism discourses could make China more assertive in the deliberations. These narratives could also be used as opportunities for seeking a common ground when engaging dialogues with China.