Confucianism and its contexts: New research in Confucian political learning
| Published date | 01 October 2017 |
| Date | 01 October 2017 |
| Author | Leigh Jenco |
| DOI | 10.1177/1474885117705021 |
| Subject Matter | Special Issue Articles |
EJPT
Introduction
Confucianism and its
contexts: New research in
Confucian political learning
Leigh Jenco
London School of Economics, UK
Abstract
This introduction to the special issue explains why political theorists should be inter-
ested in Confucianism and what we have to gain by considering Confucian learning in its
broader historical and political contexts.
Keywords
Confucianism, comparative political theory, comparative philosophy, Chinese political
thought, history of political thought
Introduction
Why should political theorists, such as readers of this journal, engage Confucianism?
Despite its ancient vintage, this philosophy (or perhaps more precisely, ‘body of
thought’) has not long been on the radar screens of Anglophone political theorists,
except perhaps in relation to some unsavoury positions in international politics. The
association of ‘Confucianism’ with historically non-democratic states has given rise
to numerous apologetics defending its logic in the name of an authoritarian elite
(Bell, 2006, 2015; Zakaria, 1994) – something the governments of Singapore and the
People’s Republic of China have used to their advantage. These associations have
unfortunately coloured the term with a tinge of cultural essentialism or reactionary
nativism, further reinforced by the claims of academic philosophers such as
Tongdong Bai (2012: 5) that study of a narrow (and historically indefensible) set
of core Confucian texts can explain ‘the Chinese mind’. Attempting to rescue the
insights of Confucian learning from its politicised appropriations has become a
veritable cottage industry within comparative philosophy circles. Unfortunately,
these debates also focus on the classical sources – and a growing, albeit largely
self-referential, English-language scholarship – while excluding a large part of
the historically relevant Confucian canon.
1
In the process, they threaten to reify
European Journal of Political Theory
2017, Vol. 16(4) 385–391
!The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1474885117705021
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Corresponding author:
Leigh Jenco, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.
Email: L.K.Jenco@lse.ac.uk
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