Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Confucius Institutes And Sino-American Soft Power Diplomacy., Christian L Bush

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Since 2004, China has attempted to promote its image abroad through a number of soft power initiatives including culture and language learning programs called Confucius Institutes. Though ostensibly a nonprofit organization akin to other language teaching programs like the German Goethe Institutes, Spanish Cervantes Institutes, Alliance Française, and the British Council, the Confucius Institute has drawn scrutiny from academic and political leaders for its close ties to the Chinese government, threat to academic freedoms, and other questionable practices. This essay seeks to examine that debate, assess critical viewpoints, and offer suggestions for future research and policy direction. Using recently published …