The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) offers a rich variety of security topics and participate in seminars to interact and collaborate with leading faculty and researchers.

In this Q&A, CISAC fellow Kevin Bustamante discusses how his research bridges international relations theory and critical race studies to explain how power and prejudice intersect in global politics.

In your article Waltz with Me: Structural Realism and Structural Racism in International Politics, you argue that Waltzian theory can bridge the divide between conventional and critical approaches to studying race and racism in international relations. How does your approach offer a new way of understanding structural racism in global politics that’s relevant to international policy debates today?

The centers of power in the world are shifting. You name it: Cultural, economic, military. Countries outside of North America and Europe are increasingly getting stronger in these areas. My article calls attention to the consequences of these power shifts in how we think about the structural nature of racial hierarchies both within a countries and in their relations with one another. The approach I develop tries to think through the causes of racial inequality and how racial hierarchies change. Normally we tend to think about racism as a set of bigoted attitudes that some people hold. My approach pushes us to think about how interstate competition can lead to the emergence of racial prejudice while also explaining how great power competition can produce all sorts of variation in how diplomats handle racial issues. For example, British and American officials in the early 20th-century were concerned about how racial discrimination might affect relations with Japan and what we see are concerted efforts by them to downplay racist language and treatment against Japan and their immigrants. These efforts did not always work but it shows how other considerations worked to mitigate racist behavior.

My approach has direct relevance today. There is real concern that China’s growth will lead to greater anti-Asian discrimination as U.S.-China competition continues to heat up. We saw during the COVID-19 pandemic an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes with xenophobic discourse aimed against China. Understanding the structural sources of racism enables us to better understand what is going on today, what may happen in the future, and how what measures we can take to mitigate these harmful practices.

Across your work, from Merze Tate’s international thought to contemporary studies of political awareness in the U.S., you examine how race shapes who has power and whose voices are heard. How do these different contexts, global politics versus domestic politics, reveal the ways racial structures influence inclusion, decision-making, and agency?

The international sphere and the domestic domain have two different ordering principles. International politics is an anarchic realm that is characterized by the lack of a central authority. This does not mean that it is pure chaos but simply that states cannot call for help and know that they will be saved. In contrast, the domestic sphere is hierarchical with the state having a monopoly on violence. I can call 911 if I hear something go bump in the night. The difference in ordering principles is central to the durability and function of racial structures. This is because racial structures depend on the maintenance of a particular set of unequal power relations and different ordering principles directly affect the prospect of power changing hands.

In international politics, military power and wealth play a major role in determining whose voices are heard and whose rights are respected. Maintaining perpetual dominance can be very difficult since trade and military emulation can lead to the emergence of new actors with their own interests and demands. When we think about the modern period, the European empires often had trouble with their colonies because of how the colonized armed themselves and resisted foreign rule when they realized that greater voice and inclusion in the empire would not be forthcoming. It is a very different story in the domestic sphere. Challenging racial inequality through a recourse to violence is less appealing or feasible for a number of reasons. Instead, racial minorities exercise agency differently by fighting for greater standing within a state try to improve their standing within a society like voting or peaceful protests.

In your upcoming article, “White Dominion: The Strange Case of Germany and the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)”, you examine how France, Germany, and Russia colluded against Japan and forced them to give up some of their spoils of war. What role does race play in Germany’s intervention?

German intervention was a bizarre event. Since the establishment of Japanese-German diplomatic relations in 1861, things between the two countries were quite friendly. During the war, Germany maintained an official neutral position and Japan saw them as sympathetic to their war effort. As the war between China and Japan ended, we see a complete German reversal. We see Germany threatening war against Japan. We see the “yellow peril” discourse suddenly emerging in German rhetoric against Japan. We see Japan taken by complete surprise by Germany. I explain this about-face by focusing on how Germany saw Japan’s peace aims as threatening German expansion into Asia both in terms of access to colonies and markets. German policymakers saw a rising Japan and we see a spike in anti-Japanese prejudice.

In terms of success, which accomplishments are you most proud of?

Graduating from the University of Miami (UM) as an undergrad and being a nuclear security fellow here at CISAC. Growing up in Miami, there used to be a saying about how only the athletic, rich, or intellectually talented ever attended UM. I cannot claim the first two so someone on the admissions committee must have saw some smarts in me. It is surreal to go from those modest beginnings to being here at Stanford and work on nuclear issues. CISAC has a storied nuclear history. And I get to contribute to that? Me? Wild.

What is something that people would be surprised to learn about you?

I really enjoy ballet. The pure grace and sheer strength involved. The defiance of gravity. The awareness that the dancers perform despite knowing that the intense physical demands will force them into retirement before 40 and yet still choosing to create art. Ballet is awesome.