Abstract

This paper argues that the Westphalian system or the sovereign nation-state system defined by the mainstream international theory ignores the fact that it consists of two sub-systems instead: the colonial system and post-colonial system, with the former expanding from the era of the Great geographic discovery by the West to the end of the Second World War, and the latter lasting from the dissolving of the colonial system till now. The colonial system is characterized by the savage conquering and occupation of the "backward races" in America, Africa, Australia, and Asia by the West, in which only the Western powers enjoy the privilege of sovereignty and the rest are deprived of it, and the rise of powers is accompanied by war and conquering. The post-colonial system formally abandoned conquering war and colonization as legitimate instruments of foreign policy, and it's also a closely-knitted web of international institutions. As a result, it provides much more opportunities and space for nations to rise peacefully. The simultaneous peaceful rise of China and India is a convincing case and hopefully it will continue to live peacefully with the established powers in the future in this post-colonial system.

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