Introduction

Taking for granted new perspectives of nationalism in China’s twenty-first-century global politics, this book introduces the everyday micro and macro-social levels of political, cultural, and economic behaviours and practices of individuals and States in society. It analyses the transformations surrounding the public domain of States and their national boundaries. Indeed, examples ranging from the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) to the global social contexts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including China’s politics of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), have shown evidence of growing “global nationalism”. By putting the case of China’s BRI, the book advances the multi-scale dimensions of nationalism. It inserts the double face of foreign public policy and global Chinese activities. Based on a sociological-political perspective, the book reveals interactions emerging from “inside” and “outside” domains of States and their public actions. It also shows evidence of the role of culture in the global political economy. In addition, China’s BRI puts forward distinct roles of culture, interests, and economy. These interactions run as the key features of the reception of the Chinese foreign policy. Specifically, technologies, development projects, trade, agro-industry, cyber-technologies, expertise, labour, military, and individuals and States’ normative ambitions disclose new perspectives on nationalism and political economy. Contributors in this book explore these transactions between nationalism and economic politics by drawing on different cases from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.