Xunzi’s and Kautilya’s Thoughts on Inter-state Politics

Xunzi and The Kautilya Arthasastra are full of rich philosophical thoughts on inter-state relations. This article undertakes a comparison between them in terms of their methods of writing, views on the nature of inter-state systems and arguments about a state’s comprehensive power. This article finds that the leadership’s determination and emphasis on morality are two important shared mentalities between Xunzi and Kautilya. Both attribute the rise and fall of a state mainly to state leadership rather than material factors or the political system. Regarding the survival of a state, they both stress the importance of the leadership’s morality in handling inter-state affairs. Unfortunately, their ideas about leadership morality have not been whole-heartedly adopted by major powers to their foreign policy-making in the twenty-first century.