A Community Of Practice For Chinese Ngos, Reza Hasmath, Jennifer Yj Hsu
Jan 2020
A Community Of Practice For Chinese Ngos, Reza Hasmath, Jennifer Yj Hsu
Reza Hasmath
A community of practice represents an important resource for the sharing of sector-specific knowledge. It is a mechanism for Chinese NGOs to learn from each other, and collaborate. Drawing upon original data elicited from over 100 NGOs, this article examines the organizational capacity for Chinese NGOs to cultivate a mature community of practice. We find that there are inherent headwinds that Chinese NGOs will have to navigate to accomplish this goal. On the one hand, the majority of NGOs in our sample do not see themselves as part of a community of experts, which presents a huge challenge for the …
What Explains The Rise Of Majority-Minority Tensions And Conflict In Xinjiang?, Reza Hasmath
Dec 2018
What Explains The Rise Of Majority-Minority Tensions And Conflict In Xinjiang?, Reza Hasmath
Reza Hasmath
In the past few years there has been a rise of inter-ethnic violence in China. While ethno-cultural repression and ineffective state policies are correctly attributed as key culprits behind this reality, this article suggests that socio-economic factors play a fundamental contributory role as well. Using the Xinjiang case, the article maps ethnic tensions and violence as a manifestation and expression of a growing and heighten ethno-cultural consciousness stemming from ethnic minorities’ low socio-economic status due, in part, to internal Han migration, and a labour market process – involving agency and structure – that has shaped a split and segmented labour …
A Maturing Civil Society In China? The Role Of Knowledge And Professionalization In The Development Of Ngos, Jennifer Yj Hsu, Reza Hasmath
Dec 2016
A Maturing Civil Society In China? The Role Of Knowledge And Professionalization In The Development Of Ngos, Jennifer Yj Hsu, Reza Hasmath
Reza Hasmath
This article suggests that Chinese NGO do not have the conviction that they are part of an epistemic community in mainland China. Interviews conducted in four cities, Chongqing, Kunming, Nanjing and Shanghai, suggests that this can be attributed to a lack of set standards and professionalization governing their sector of operation. Further, the study finds that Chinese NGOs do not see their primary role is to produce knowledge within their organizational development life cycle. This may indicate a varying path towards the maturation of the civil society sector in China, whereby Chinese NGOs do not conform to the organizational development …
When A Joke Is More Than A Joke: Humor As A Form Of Networked Practice In The Chinese Cyber Public Sphere, Mathew Yates, Reza Hasmath
Dec 2016
When A Joke Is More Than A Joke: Humor As A Form Of Networked Practice In The Chinese Cyber Public Sphere, Mathew Yates, Reza Hasmath
Reza Hasmath
Received wisdom views political humor, viz. egao, in the Chinese cyber public sphere as a form of resistance. This study creates and tests a framework that best conceptualizes how different functions of egao are connected with one another: to analyze the patterns of ties that link the different facets of the phenomenon together. The study contends that by framing egao within network society theory, we can appreciate its fluidity and better understand its online ubiquity. Analysis of survey data suggests that it is not the content solely but the networked practice of egao that dictates its true function. Namely, the …
The Impact Of The European Union’S Policy Towards China’S Intellectual Property Regime, Natalia Wyzycka, Reza Hasmath
Dec 2016
The Impact Of The European Union’S Policy Towards China’S Intellectual Property Regime, Natalia Wyzycka, Reza Hasmath
Reza Hasmath
This article evaluates the effectiveness of two major European Union technical assistance programmes, IPR2 and IP Key, in shaping China’s regional intellectual property (IP) enforcement. It argues that although technical assistance programmes have been effective in influencing the national IP legal framework, it has been less successful in assisting regional policy enforcement. This is primarily the result of divergent economic priorities at the sub-national level. The article further assesses potential priorities for future IP technical assistance.
What Drives Contemporary Eu-China Strategic Engagement?, Natalia Wyzycka, Reza Hasmath
Dec 2015
What Drives Contemporary Eu-China Strategic Engagement?, Natalia Wyzycka, Reza Hasmath
Reza Hasmath
This study examines the determinants of the European Union’s strategic engagement with China, with reference to three competing analytical approaches: institutional, social, and agency/stakeholder. The article examines the utility of each claim and outlines complementary variables amongst the three approaches, with the aid of recent evidence looking at the E.U.’s arms embargo on China, E.U.-China engagement in Africa, and the E.U.’s longstanding dispute on granting China market economy status. The findings can reduce the misunderstandings and uncertainties embedded in European Union-China interactions by demystifying the factors and variables that drive their relationship.
The Interactions Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath
Dec 2013
The Interactions Of Ethnic Minorities In Beijing, Reza Hasmath
Reza Hasmath
Drawing on six years of fieldwork in Beijing, this article looks at the daily interactions of ethnic minorities in local neighbourhoods and places of economic activities. Moreover, it examines ethnic minorities’ negotiations with public institutions, the Han majority and other ethnic minority groups. The article suggests that celebratory ethno-festivals and ethnic oriented restaurants that showcase minority traditions serve as a mechanism to encourage Han interactions with ethnic minority groups. However, the attendant risk in utilizing this practice is that the socio-economic struggles of many ethnic minority groups are being masked when a celebratory version of their culture and traditions are …
