Must Great Power Politics Necessarily Be Tragic? Li (力) and De (德) as Two Paradigms of Power

Shuchen Xiang

doi:10.4312/as.2026.14.1.143-173

Authors

XIANG Shuchen Xidian University, Xi'an, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2026.14.1.143-173

Keywords:

China, international relations, politics, realism, great power competition

Abstract

This text contrasts two perspectives of power. The first is represented by John Mearsheimer’s “realism”, under which, power is only real when it is coercive, military might and which is comparable to the concept of li (力) in traditional Chinese political theory. This paper presents an alternative conception of power—de (德)—a non-coercive power achieved through co-empowerment. It is only under the first conception of power that forces us to the conclusion that great power competition must necessarily be tragic. This paper elucidates the governing logics of both accounts of power and shows how they have animated political life in both the European-Western and Sinitic contexts. Central to the de conception of power is the concept of min (民)—the subject of the de conception of political power. We can see an early Chinese transition from “Heaven” as the source of political power to that of the min. This paper closes with observations on the parallels between the de account of power with agriculturalism and an organicist mentality that is defining of Chinese civilization. In contrast, it draws parallels between the li account of power and the overwhelmingly “nomadic” forms of life that characterize European civilization.

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