Master of Arts (International Relations)

PhD Title

Civilisational Perspectives in International Relations and Contemporary China-India Relations

PhD Thesis Summary

The concept of civilisation(s) has been much debated by International Relations (IR) scholars in the last two decades. The publication of Samuel Huntington’s hypothesis on the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ in 1993 triggered wide-ranging discussions about a world order based on different but antagonistic civilisations, looking beyond the nation state as the only significant political entity.  However, the likelihood of imminent conflicts based upon civilisational incompatibilities cannot adequately explain the largely peaceful and mutually enriching exchanges between the Chinese and Indian civilisations for over twenty centuries. Nor is the concept of the modern ‘nation-state’ able to capture the complexities of ancient civilisations like China and India. The objective of this study is to investigate the contemporary bilateral relations between China and India through the analysis of their self-perception of being civilisation-state rather than the normative nations-state. The primary research question explored in this thesis is: How has the self-perception of being civilisation-states shaped the contemporary bilateral relationship of China and India?

Commencement Date

December 2015

Proposed completion date

December 2018

Supervisors

Dr. Chengxin Pan

Dr. Cai Wilkinson

Professor David Lowe

Awards and Scholarships

Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship

Affiliations

Deakin University, Melbourne

Alfred Deakin Institute, Melbourne

Institute of Post Colonial Studies, Melbourne

Research Interests

Contemporary Indian History

India-China relations

Civilisational perspectives in IR

Non-Western sources of IR knowledge

Biography

Ravi Datt Bajpai completed his Master of Arts (International Relations) degree at Deakin University, Melbourne in 2015. Currently, he is pursing PhD at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, in International Relations on the thesis Civilizational Aspects in International Relations and the Contemporary China-India Relations. His is associated with the Institute of Post Colonial Studies (IPCS) at Melbourne as a council member. Ravi is a regular contributor to a Hindi newspaper Prabhat Khabar on international affairs and geo-political developments. He has made occasional contributions to an English daily the The Hindu Business Line, Chennai, India. He has also contributed to an India based think tank Chennai Centre for China Studies located in Chennai, India.

News

CHRG’s Ravi Bajpai Writes About the Beginning of His PhD Journey – August 2016

Welcome to Our New PhD Member: Ravi Dutt Bajpai! – August 2016

Contact

email: rbajpai@deakin.edu.au

twitter: @RaviDuttBajpai

skype: ravibaj