Conference Presentation on Chinese IR Theories at ISA 2025 in Chicago
On 4 March 2025, Dr. Ivo Ganchev, Founding Director of the Centre for Regional Integration, presented his working paper titled “Lessons from ‘Chinese’ IR Theories: A Levels of Analysis Approach to Theoretical Synthesis” at the International Studies Association (ISA) 2025 Annual Convention, held at the Hilton Chicago (USA). His presentation was part of Panel TD45, themed “The Unheard Voices – Reconnecting International Studies through Non-Western Perspectives,”which aligned with the broader conference theme of “Reconnecting International Studies.”
Hosted in Conference Room 4A, the panel focused on the integration of non-Western perspectives into the field of International Relations (IR), with the aim of rebalancing global academic discourse and promoting theoretical diversity. Dr. Ganchev’s paper offered a critical reassessment of the disciplinary contributions of two leading Chinese theorists—Yan Xuetong and Qin Yaqing—situating their work within broader Western frameworks to highlight new avenues for theoretical synthesis.
Using a hermeneutic approach, Dr. Ganchev argued that neither Yan nor Qin fully meet their own stated standards for conceptual innovation. Instead, he demonstrated that their theories can serve as valuable bridges across established schools of thought. Specifically, Yan’s realism offers a way to reconcile role-based hierarchies with classical understandings of anarchy, while Qin’s relational theory aligns with post-structuralist and critical constructivist traditions. Drawing on a four-stage framework—uneven and combined development, relationality, anarchy, and hierarchy—Dr. Ganchev proposed a new levels-of-analysis model for understanding the emergence and cyclical reproduction of the ‘international’.
The panel also featured presentations by Fernanda Barasuol (Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados), whose paper analyzed how Latin American scholarship remains dominated by Global North references, and Melika Mahmutović (University of Ljubljana), who explored liminality and lessons from the post-Yugoslav Balkans. The session was chaired by Dr. Christopher B. Primiano (Huntingdon College), author of China, the UN and Human Rights (Routledge), and an expert in Chinese and Central Asian politics.
Dr. Ganchev’s presentation contributed to the panel’s overarching aim of expanding the epistemological and theoretical boundaries of IR. His remarks emphasized the importance of approaching ‘Chinese’ IR not as a departure from the global canon, but as an opportunity for integrative thinking that enriches the discipline as a whole.
To learn more about the Centre for Regional Integration, visit: www.regionalintegration.org
For more information about the ISA Annual Convention, visit: www.isanet.org
