The Civilization that Pretends to be a Country

Описание: Why does the West keep getting China wrong? For decades, the world has waited for China to "liberalize" and become a standard Western-style nation-state. But according to political scientists like Lucian Pye and Martin Jacques, China isn't just another country on the map—it’s a "civilization-state."
In this video, we explore the fundamental differences between the Western nation-state model (born from the Treaty of Westphalia) and China's 2,000-year-old civilizational logic. We break down why Beijing prioritizes collective continuity over individual dissent, how the state views itself as the "guardian" of a culture rather than just a government, and why applying Western political rules to China often leads to the wrong conclusions.

Key Topics Covered:
The origin of the "Civilization-State" concept.
Nation-State vs. Civilization-State: Key differences.
Why Western "democratization" expectations have failed.
The CCP as the protector of Chinese civilization.
The trade-off between individual rights and social order.

References & Sources
Jacques, Martin. When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World. Penguin Books, 2009/2012. (Primary proponent of the modern civilization-state theory).

Pye, Lucian. "China: Erratic State, Frustrated Society." Foreign Affairs, 1990. (Originator of the "civilization pretending to be a country" quote).

Zhang, Weiwei. The China Wave: Rise of a Civilizational State. World Century Publishing Corporation, 2012. (A Chinese perspective on the civilization-state).

American Historical Association. "The Oldest Living Civilization." (Context on the length and continuity of Chinese history).

European Parliamentary Research Service. "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Briefing." (On CCP legitimacy and the prioritization of social stability).

Noema Magazine. "China Rises As The Ideal Civilizational State." (Contemporary analysis of the model's return).


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