Table Of ContentST ANTONY’S SERIES
Norms, Storytelling
and International
Institutions in China
The Imperative to Narrate
Xiaoyu Lu
St Antony’s Series
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Dan Healey
St Antony’s College
University of Oxford
Oxford, UK
Leigh Payne
St Antony’s College
University of Oxford
Oxford, UK
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Xiaoyu Lu
Norms, Storytelling
and International
Institutions in China
The Imperative to Narrate
Xiaoyu Lu
School of International Studies
Peking University
Beijing, China
ISSN 2633-5964 ISSN 2633-5972 (electronic)
St Antony’s Series
ISBN 978-3-030-56706-4 ISBN 978-3-030-56707-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56707-1
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To my parents
And Anna and Andrew
A
cknowledgements
As an expansion of my doctoral research, this book is indebted to the
Department of Politics and International Relations and St Antony’s
College at University of Oxford. My supervisor Patricia Thornton has
shown great patience and understanding throughout my master’s and
doctoral years. The earlier drafts have benefited tremendously from the
reviews of Rosemary Foot, Miriam Driessen, Rana Mitter and Emma
Mawdsley, support from the Dahrendorf Programme with Timothy
Garton Ash and the Project on UN Governance and Reform with Sam
Daws. The DPhil peer networks including Muzhi Zhou, Will Allen,
Sharinee Jagtiani, Maryhen Jimenez Morales, Endrit Shabani, Yang Yi,
Flair Donglai Shi and Jodie Yuzhou Sun and the Winchester Writing Club
have supported me throughout the most difficult times. I deeply appreci-
ate the mentorship from Amy King and Evelyn Goh at the Coral Bell
School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. The
Strategic and Defence Studies Centre and Australian Research Council
funding (DE170101282) have generously supported my postdoctoral
research fellowship and my book revision during the outbreak of Covid-19
and the lockdown in Wuhan.
Needless to say, my research would not be possible without the open-
ness of the UNDP office, and here I especially thank the UN resident
coordinator Nicholas Rosellini, UN country director Agi Veres, deputy
country director Patrick Haverman and team leaders including Gu Qing,
Carsten Germer, Niels Vestergaard and Madam Ge. Colleagues including
Andrea Pastorelli, Wu Di, James Yang, Liping Li, Haoran Zheng, Wang
Rui, Shuwen Zhou, Weizhu Sun, Ruoqi Zhu, Zeng Meng and Li Ming
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
have shown me a great level of professionalism and the most welcoming
atmosphere. Also, I will never forget the days and nights living in the
Hutong district in Beijing, in companion with Lao Qu, Eva Ren and
Donnie Woo. They have made my days in Beijing memorable. I specially
thank Yao Hui, a decade-long friend, who has always been the first to
review my non-academic writings and the most encouraging figure
throughout the years. There are numerous civil society organisations and
governmental offices that I have worked with, and individuals who have
been informative and candid in our conversations, though I will not name
them here due to confidentiality and anonymity. This research received
funding and grants from the China Scholarship Council, Vice-Chancellor’s
Fund, BA International Development Award, Carr and Stahl Fund,
Gilbert Murray UN Study Award.
Lastly, I must thank my family for their unyielding support, mixed with
occasional (and quite reasonable) concerns over the job prospects of a
degree in politics. Without them, none of these will ever be possible. More
and more have I realised the influence of my parents. My wife Anna
Yates-Lu, who graduated her PhD early while pregnant, has been an aca-
demic model of grit and integrity. It is difficult to imagine the completion
of this project without her support. Our son Andrew has adapted to his
parents’ frequent travels and field trips since birth and cured my insom-
nia—after waking up three or four times every night for a year, I can
almost fall asleep at any time of the day. Parenting has been another impor-
tant learning subject during this research project. This book, to some
degree, is dedicated to all these people and the days spent together.
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 Neither Local nor Global 31
3 Entering the UNDP 55
4 Norm Metamorphosis 81
5 Personalising Human Rights 105
6 Learning Rule of Law 137
7 When the Local Returns 167
8 Conclusion: The Liminal Raconteur 203
Bibliography 215
Index 243
ix
A
bbreviAtions
ACCA21 Administrative Centre for China’s Agenda 21
BRI Belt and Road Initiative
CAITEC Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic
Cooperation
CAT Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment
CBD China Development Bank
CCIEE China Centre for International Economic Exchange
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
Against Women
CICETE China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges
CIIL Chinese Initiative on International Law
CPD Country Programme Document
CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
CSOs Civil Society Organisations
DAC Development Assistance Cooperation
EPTA Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance
GED Governance for Equitable Development
IPRCC International Poverty Reduction Centre in China
LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
MAPS Mainstreaming, Acceleration, Policy Support
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MOST Ministry of Science and Technology
NDRC National Development and Reform Commission
NDRC State Forestry Agency and National Development and Reform
Commission
NPC National People’s Congress
xi
