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Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation

During his administration from 2003 to 2009, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chose to continue the foreign policy of Mahathir Mohamad. However, he also applied a more ‘middle-ground’ approach that was neither provocative nor aggressive. This had on occasion portrayed him as a weak leader, contributing to the...

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Main Authors: Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram, Ma'dan, Marfunizah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universiti Utara Malaysia Press 2023
Subjects:
JZ International relations
Online Access:https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29736/1/JIS%2019%2001%202023%20145-168.pdf
https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2023.19.1.6
https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29736/
https://e-journal.uum.edu.my/index.php/jis/article/view/15992
https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2023.19.1.6
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spelling my.uum.repo.297362023-09-06T15:50:43Z https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29736/ Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram Ma'dan, Marfunizah JZ International relations During his administration from 2003 to 2009, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chose to continue the foreign policy of Mahathir Mohamad. However, he also applied a more ‘middle-ground’ approach that was neither provocative nor aggressive. This had on occasion portrayed him as a weak leader, contributing to the loss of majority seats for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 12th general election. Nonetheless, during his tenure, there was an increase in cooperation between Malaysia and China in the educational and sociocultural fields, as well as cooperation with government-linked companies (GLCs), which had not happened before. How far did the moderate personality of Abdullah provide a significant impact on the structuring of Malaysia’s foreign policy towards China? This research will look at a three-level analysis that was conducted in assessing the foreign policy of Malaysia towards China during the period. The three levels that were analysed were international, national, and personality factors. A neoclassical realist approach was applied to look at the changing international political landscape and its impact on Malaysian foreign policy towards China. This research applied a qualitative method of obtaining primary data through structured interviews with key informants and an analytical method based on chronology—unsupported by empirical evidence from secondary data. In conclusion, the research revealed that Malaysia’s foreign policy towards China during Abdullah Badawi’s administration was a combination of ongoing maturing of relations and an increase in bilateral cooperation which had not been explored before. The research also found that although Abdullah Badawi was seen as a relatively weak leader in domestic politics, he made a significant impact on the continuity of Malaysia’s national interest, particularly in the soft power competition between the USA and China in Southeast Asia. Universiti Utara Malaysia Press 2023 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc4_by https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29736/1/JIS%2019%2001%202023%20145-168.pdf Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram and Ma'dan, Marfunizah (2023) Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation. Journal of International Studies (JIS), 19 (1). pp. 145-168. ISSN 1823-691X https://e-journal.uum.edu.my/index.php/jis/article/view/15992 https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2023.19.1.6 https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2023.19.1.6
institution Universiti Utara Malaysia
building UUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Utara Malaysia
content_source UUM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://repo.uum.edu.my/
language English
topic JZ International relations
spellingShingle JZ International relations
Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram
Ma'dan, Marfunizah
Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation
description During his administration from 2003 to 2009, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chose to continue the foreign policy of Mahathir Mohamad. However, he also applied a more ‘middle-ground’ approach that was neither provocative nor aggressive. This had on occasion portrayed him as a weak leader, contributing to the loss of majority seats for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 12th general election. Nonetheless, during his tenure, there was an increase in cooperation between Malaysia and China in the educational and sociocultural fields, as well as cooperation with government-linked companies (GLCs), which had not happened before. How far did the moderate personality of Abdullah provide a significant impact on the structuring of Malaysia’s foreign policy towards China? This research will look at a three-level analysis that was conducted in assessing the foreign policy of Malaysia towards China during the period. The three levels that were analysed were international, national, and personality factors. A neoclassical realist approach was applied to look at the changing international political landscape and its impact on Malaysian foreign policy towards China. This research applied a qualitative method of obtaining primary data through structured interviews with key informants and an analytical method based on chronology—unsupported by empirical evidence from secondary data. In conclusion, the research revealed that Malaysia’s foreign policy towards China during Abdullah Badawi’s administration was a combination of ongoing maturing of relations and an increase in bilateral cooperation which had not been explored before. The research also found that although Abdullah Badawi was seen as a relatively weak leader in domestic politics, he made a significant impact on the continuity of Malaysia’s national interest, particularly in the soft power competition between the USA and China in Southeast Asia.
format Article
author Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram
Ma'dan, Marfunizah
author_facet Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram
Ma'dan, Marfunizah
author_sort Mohamad Ridzuan, Mohamad Ikhram
title Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation
title_short Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation
title_full Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation
title_fullStr Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation
title_full_unstemmed Abdullah Badawi’s Foreign Policy Towards China: Three-Level Analysis of a Pragmatic and Idealistic Diplomacy Strategy in A Two-Way Cooperation
title_sort abdullah badawi’s foreign policy towards china: three-level analysis of a pragmatic and idealistic diplomacy strategy in a two-way cooperation
publisher Universiti Utara Malaysia Press
publishDate 2023
url https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29736/1/JIS%2019%2001%202023%20145-168.pdf
https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2023.19.1.6
https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29736/
https://e-journal.uum.edu.my/index.php/jis/article/view/15992
https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2023.19.1.6
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score 13.211869

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