China's Global Security Initiatives and International Order

Western commentators have called China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) an effort to remake

the international order. Three years after its introduction, however, it is not clear how this

still-opaque proposal will challenge the current security order. This discussion paper shows

that the initiative’s features with the most concrete progress—China as a more involved actor,

with an approach to global security focussed on domestic and nontraditional challenges—do

not necessarily challenge the current order. While there is an undeniable risk that China’s

state-centred approach will further promote tools of authoritarianism, there is limited evidence

so far that China is seeking to create an alternative authoritarian-led security order. Western

policymakers should recognise that China’s increasing involvement in international security is

driven by security concerns rather than a desire for geopolitical or ideological dominance. Rather

than blanket opposition to the GSI, policymakers concerned about its implications for liberal

democracy or geopolitical influence should seek to shape and counteract the spread of the tools

of authoritarianism.