Table 2 Comparing Confucianism with realism, liberalism and constructivism
From: Beyond dependency: the promise of Confucianism in Post-Westphalia International relations
Confucianism | Realism | Liberalism | Constructivism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Level of analysis | Individual | State | State + Non-State Actors | Agency Structural Dialectic |
Key Tenets | Humaneness, Righteousness, Propriety, Knowledge, Integrity | Statism, Survival, Self-Help | Comparative Advantage | Norms |
System outcomes | Under holism: nothing opposite | Hegemony, Zero-sum game: conflict inevitable | Interdependence, Trade war | Regionalism |
Under Datong: A harmonious world | ||||
Hierarchy/Order: Unequal but benign |