Fears of Falling Short versus Anxieties of Decline: Explaining Russia and China’s Approach to Status-Seeking
Journal: The Chinese Journal of International Politics
Year: 2020

Abstract Although recent scholarship has advanced our understanding of status, little attention has been paid to the factors that shape states’ status-seeking behaviour. Consequently, existing theories are unable to explain why Russia has been more aggressive and confrontational in its status-seeking than China. What is missing is a detailed examination of the ways in which status-seekers’ power trajectories affect their status-seeking behaviour. Whether a status-seeker is rising or in decline s