China is on a mission to build world peace, but why now? What qualifications do they have to be a mediator? Will the peace they bring about be a stable, lasting one? Are they better than the UN? Is neutrality a core feature of a good third-party mediator? What do they stand to gain from the Saudi Arabia-Iran deal? Is their plan for peace between Ukraine and Russia viable? Is democracy a prerequisite for peace in the modern world? Will globalisation perish or flourish as a result in the rise of transactional peace?

So many questions. About 2, maybe 3, answers.

00:00 Intro
00:57 Context questions: what is going on?
02:06 What makes a good mediator?
12:24 The quest for global governance
15:49 The Saudi-Iran deal
21:21 The end of the Russia Ukraine War?
24:49: Does it matter that China isn't neutral?
30:16 The democracy problem
35:19 A new world order?

Sources

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-74319-6

China Daily, Nation hailed for brokering Saudi-Iranian agreement https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202303/15/WS6411031ea31057c47ebb4741_1.html

China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/202302/t20230224_11030713.html

The Economist, The world according to Xi, https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/03/23/the-world-according-to-xi

Contemporary Peacemaking: Peace Processes, Peacebuilding, and Conflict, Roger Mac Guinty and Anthony Wallis-St. John eds.

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