Franco-German reconciliation and its impact on China and Japan: Scholarly debate

The extent to which the experience of Franco-German reconciliation is relevant in East Asia is an intriguing question to integration scholars as well as diplomatic practitioners. This article examines scholarly works on the Franco-German experience published in China and Japan during the past fifteen years. The aim is twofold. First, the analysis highlights the factual details upon which the Chinese and Japanese understandings of Franco-German reconciliation are based. Second, we identify the rhetorical patterns adopted by Chinese and Japanese scholars when they argue for the (ir-) relevance of Franco-German experience in East Asia. Based on the theory of communicative action in world politics, the article contends that, while it is unlikely that China and Japan will follow the exact path of Franco-German reconciliation, the common reference to Europe provides a useful communicative platform to reconsider the relationship between the two Asian countries.