China's Global Security Initiatives and International Order

Western commentators have called China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) an effort to remake the international order. Three years after its introduction, however, it is not clear how this still-opaque proposal will challenge the current security order. This discussion paper shows that the initiative’s features with the most concrete progress—China as a more involved actor, with an approach to global security focussed on domestic and nontraditional challenges—do not necessarily challenge the current order. While there is an undeniable risk that China’s state-centred approach will further promote tools of authoritarianism, there is limited evidence so far that China is seeking to create an alternative authoritarian-led security order. Western policymakers should recognise that China’s increasing involvement in international security is driven by security concerns rather than a desire for geopolitical or ideological dominance. Rather than blanket opposition to the GSI, policymakers concerned about its implications for liberal democracy or geopolitical influence should seek to shape and counteract the spread of the tools of authoritarianism.