The Citizen Diplomacy During World War I

During World War I, China saw a rapid development of citizen diplomacy. In order to safeguard the rights and interests of China and reclaim Qingdao and the Qingdao-Jinan railway occupied by the Japanese, various social strata enthusiastically participated in citizen diplomacy, aiming to inspire the Beijing government to take a proactive diplomatic approach through their own involvement. The citizen diplomacy that emerged during the late Qing had a more specific direction during the Republican era. Building on existing research, this chapter aims to explore, from a theoretical perspective and using specific events from citizen activism that shaped Chinese foreign relations at the time, what constitutes a citizen diplomacy movement and whether it is feasible for the academic community to consider all mass movements related to diplomacy as part of the movement. In comparison to previous studies, this chapter, while organizing relevant historical facts, places greater emphasis on theoretical thinking and raises fundamental and conceptual questions that have not been previously addressed by researchers.