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Vo1. 36, No. 4, July/August 2018

Abstracts

3 Reflections on China’s Non-traditional Security Studies over the Past 40
Years (1978-2017): Theoretical Context, Significance and Prospect
LIAO Danzi

[Abstract] Non-traditional security studies (NTSS) in China is becoming
increasingly prominent in the field of security studies. It has exerted enormous
impact on relevant researches, security realities and security policies. China’s NTSS
has undergone a four-stage process of development: conceptualization and
preliminary development, further elaboration and asking for more attention,
rethinking and in-depth research as well as construction and expansion. Research
elements and types were gradually clear and kept updating. In terms of its relations
with state policy-making, it was once neglected and marginalized but now has
become a top priority on the agenda. The researches in the field of NTSS are mainly
driven by scientific principles, technologies, events policies and environments.
Furthermore, the institutionalized researches are all-encompassing in that it involves
organizations and institutions, students’ nurturing and training, knowledge
dissemination, policy consultation and academic networking. Academically, thanks
to the school and discipline self-consciousness, China’s NTSS has facilitated the
“paradigm shift” of security thinking and the reshaping of “security civilization”.
Therefore, in terms of policy-making, it has been able to lead the security
governance practices to a more comprehensive and internationalized path.
However, it has not yet formulated a theoretical system and been insufficient in its
specialization, professionalism or internationalization. In the future, China’s NTSS
should forge ahead with research patterns of global security, meta problem and
analytical framework, theoretical system and disciplinary self-consciousness,
methodology and quantitative studies, in-depth exploration of issues and concerns as
well as dialogues in the international arena.
[Keywords] non-traditional security study, overall national security, shared security,
security civilization, Chinese schools
[Author] LIAO Danzi, Associate Professor, College of Public Administration,
Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics (Hangzhou, 310018).

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