Remembering the Great Leap Backwards

In this commentary, Prof. Tim Dunne of the University of Exeter assesses the record of Western human rights diplomacy on China twenty years after the Tian'anmen massacre. He argues that although human rights matter to the Obama administration, the United States cannot “afford to antagonize” Beijing. At the same time, he also notes that it is becoming too costly for China itself to ignore the rights of its citizens.

The article is based on a guest lecture delivered at DIIS on 29 May to inaugurate the seminar series on “Liberalism and World Order.” The series is coordinated by Prof. Dunne and Dr. Marjo Koivisto, also at the University of Exeter, and Senior Researchers Trine Flockhart and Fabrizio Tassinari at DIIS. The following two seminars will take place on 11 September and 30 October.

Download the commentary (pdf, 42 KB)