Theory and Methodology

Abstract

Studying NGOs in China’s foreign policy presents two challenges: first, as Kelly explains: “the role of NGOs in IR theory is in a ‘pre-paradigmatic’ stage” (Kelly 2007: 82), and second, there is no consensus on China’s predominant IR strategy, and Western theories and findings cannot necessarily be transferred to the Chinese context. Global governance is the keyword under which China involves NGOs in its foreign policy and an IR concept that provides the greatest possible framework to regard the multifaceted roles and functions of NGOs in IR. As the concept is blurry and can describe just about everything happening in a globalized international system, it can be regarded as an unfinished paradigm for NGOs in IR. This chapter introduces the different theoretical approaches to NGOs in IR and explains why and how this book relates to global governance in the interpretation of the research results. Subsequently, it explains the research method - an explanatory two-phase empirical research design - encompassing an analysis of the Chinese discourse on global governance with a special focus on NGOs as well as an embedded case study of Chinese NGOs going global.