Family and its Relations with other Social Institutions in Different Cultures: Its Relevance to International Relations

Family has been a social institution of central importance in human societies, but, in spite of its universality, it has shown variation in different cultures. This variation consists both in the internal characteristics of the family in specific cultures and its relations with the individuals and other social institutions, like the state. In moral psychology and philosophy family is seen as one of the “moral circles”, which contains the individual but is in turn contained in larger moral circles like the community, the nation and the country. The first part of this paper briefly discusses the relations and tensions between the institution of family in Ancient Greek and Ancient Chinese traditions and the individual and the state. It is argued that both traditions debated the relation between family and state as well as the relation between family and individual. The final part of the paper shifts its attention to modern times and argues that the relations between family and other social institutions are of central importance in understanding the differences between cultures that exist in areas covered by China's Belt and Road Initiative. It is argued that cultural practices and policies that affect the nature of modern families in different regions may have long-term consequences for international relations