International and Area Studies Commons^™

What Are The Key Government And Economic Factors That Influence The Adaptation Of Western Human Rights Norms In China, India, And Turkey?, Carlota Rahola Funallet

Senior Theses

I.Abstract The adaptation of global human rights norms poses a significant challenge in diverse political and cultural contexts. In China, India, and Turkey, government policies, economic priorities, and cultural dynamics uniquely shape how these norms are engaged. China’s centralized governance prioritizes economic stability and collective rights, often at the expense of individual freedoms. In India, a democratic values and constitutional protections align with Western ideals, but caste and gender inequalities persist as systemic barriers. Turkey’s dynamic approach, influenced by secularism, religious tensions, and EU aspirations, reveals the impact of both external pressures and domestic political shifts. These case studies illustrate …

Breaking The Ice: China And Lawfare In The Arctic, Sophia Toner

Honors Theses

This thesis examines China's engagement with international legal frameworks in the Arctic through a lawfare lens, using a structured analytical framework to assess whether Chinese activities constitute lawfare. Focusing on two key cases—China's involvement in submarine cable infrastructure and its navigation of the Northern Sea Route—the research applies Andrea Beck's three-part definition of lawfare: "(1) the misuse of the law in order to, (2) achieve a military objective, and (3) undermine the legal framework." The analysis reveals that China's Arctic engagement does not fully constitute lawfare according to this definition. Rather than misusing legal frameworks, China operates within existing structures …

Investments Or Restrictions? China’S Influence On Freedom Of Expression In African Countries, Christina A. Oswalt

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Between 2001 and 2018, China’s outward foreign direct investment increased by 66.3 times, with a particular focus on resource-rich countries in Africa. While the economic impact of these investments has been widely studied, their potential impacts on democratic freedoms have been neglected. This thesis investigates how Chinese foreign direct investment affects African countries’ free speech, free press, and internet freedom. Based on case studies of Zambia, Kenya, and Ghana, this thesis finds a causal relationship between increased foreign direct investment from China and decreased freedom of expression and internet freedom in host countries. This relationship is moderated by the proportion …

The Prospects Of The High Seas Treaty Decisively Reducing The Negative Biodiversity Impacts Of Distant Water Fishing Operations, Shirley V. Scott, Nengye Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

International fisheries law has so far proven inadequate to prevent over-fishing on the high seas, a key cause of biodiversity loss in areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Negotiation of the High Seas Treaty (Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction or BBNJ Agreement) afforded an opportunity to respond decisively to the worsening problem. The Treaty was concluded in 2023. It is yet to enter into force. Preparations and negotiations for the Treaty spanned some 20 years. By …

Infrastructuring Planetary Rural Geographies: A View From China’S Rural Construction Movement, Ningning Chen, Lily Kong, Yurui Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This commentary responds to Wang et al.'s (2023) call for planetary rural geographies by attending to the neglected infrastructural dimensions. In so doing, we show how China's rural construction movement demonstrates Wang et al.'s (2023) three geographies of planetary rurality: as spaces of crisis, conflict, and hope. Simultaneously, we address how planetary rural thinking can foreground infrastructural geographies and their destabilization of urban-centered discourses, leading to a reconsideration of rural–urban relationality. We then identify new insights that critical infrastructural studies offer to planetary rural geographies. This includes an emphasis on the material grounds, hidden politics, and non-linear temporal patterns of …

The Frequency And Nature Of Nepal Discussion In Official China, Ashis Adhikary

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

There is a gap in comprehensive understanding of Nepal’s discussion inside China. To fill this gap, this study attempts to understand the frequency and nature of discussion about Nepal. It uses a mixed method and employs computational tools of Python libraries, namely BeautifulSoup and Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK), for data collection and processing. It counts the frequency of the word “Nepal” and performs a content analysis of textual documents with discussion about Nepal. The study discovered three major findings. First, although Nepal gets notable attention inside China, major agents are media houses, not the formal foreign ministry. Second, the Chinese …

Developmentalism, Christianity, And Population Decline In East Asia, Elizabeth Lacouture

Asia Pacific Perspectives

In 2024, Taiwan and South Korea had the lowest fertility rates in the world. Instead of solving this demographic conundrum, this paper examines the ways in which women, family and fertility have been described, measured, and discussed across time and space in East Asia and introduces the role of US Christian ideology in propagating population control. US Christian missionaries and networks forged in China and Korea in the nineteenth century built a foundation for the social sciences of the family in early twentieth century China that developed into US modernization theory-led demography in the Republic of China on Taiwan and …

The Influence Of Venture Capitalists’ Value-Added Service On Capital Financing Outcome: A Research On Chinese Biotech Startups, Hao-Yu Huang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

China’s biotechnology sector has undergone rapid evolution, driven by government policy, capital market reform, and growing global demand for pharmaceutical innovation. Venture capitalists (VCs) have played an increasingly pivotal role not only as financiers but also as strategic partners offering value-added services (VAS). These interventions include operational mentorship, regulatory navigation, talent pipeline facilitation, and strategic repositioning. However, the extent to which such non-financial support influences financing outcomes across startup development stages remains underexplored—particularly in the context of China's unique institutional and industrial environment.

This dissertation examines how VC post-investment interventions affect the financing success of biotech startups in China. Drawing …

The Rise Of China And The Concept Of Civilization: Constructing A Conceptual Apparatus For Cross-Civilizational Comparisons, Liah Greenfeld

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Rise of China and the Concept of Civilization: Constructing a Conceptual Apparatus for Cross-Civilizational Comparisons

The paper examines the deficiencies of the current understanding of “civilization” in the social science literature, among others exemplified by “civilizational analysis,” and proposes a new concept that adds to the conceptual apparatus of sociological theory — a new, fully independent of others, variant of the cultural process. This independence makes distinctions between civilizations as the root cause of socio-cultural diversity.

Combined with the idea of humanity as a culturally constituted reality sui generis, this concept allows the construction of the theoretical scaffolding …

Geographic Distance And State's Grip: Information Asymmetry, State Inattention, And Firm Implementation Of State Policy, Xiyi Yang, Heli Wang, Xiaoyu Zhou

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this study, we develop the argument that geographic distance between the state and local governments undermines the state's capacity to influence the implementation of state policies by local organizations. Drawing from information economics and the attention-based view, we propose that physical distance reduces the state's monitoring effectiveness through two interrelated mechanisms: information asymmetry and state leaders' inattention to distant issues. Using data of Chinese public firms' implementation of environmental activities between 2008 and 2016, we find that firms conduct fewer environmental activities required by the state when they are regulated by local governments that are more geographically distant to …

China's Cultural Diplomacy And Its Engagement With The Peranakan Community In Malacca, Kotchaphop Kornphetcharat, Lee Yuen Thien

International Review of Humanities Studies

China's cultural diplomacy utilizes a range of strategies, including cultural exchange programs, media outreach, and people-to-people interactions, to further its national interests and enhance its international image. The primary aims are to foster a positive perception of China, build mutual understanding and trust with other nations, and expand China's cultural and economic influence. The overseas Chinese community in Southeast Asia has been recognized as a crucial conduit for advancing Chinese cultural policy globally. Recently, the Chinese government has conducted official visits to the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum in Malacca, Malaysia, exemplifying its efforts to engage with the local community. …

The Rise Of Mao: Chinese Civil War And The Role Of Sub-State Actors, 1924-1949, Jackson Trahant

Tenor of Our Times

Mao Zedong led one of the most successful peasant rebellions in human history, changing the global stage of politics forever. Analysis of the 30 year war between Mao’s CCP and the Nationalist Party regime, led by Chiang Kai-shek, reveals the vital role of the Chinese peasant class as a force for revolution. Through ideological pedagogy, Mao formed a highly loyal army that in turn transformed him into a premier political figure of the 20th century, both hated and revered. His story informs the modern field of comparative politics as to how intrastate conflicts rely on sub-state actors for their success.

Indopacom Force Structure: A Trajectory Into The 2030s, Robert Burke

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Over the past ten years Taiwan has become a major point of friction between the United States and People’s Republic of China with both militaries preparing for a potential conflict over the island. China vastly expanded its military forces and capabilities over the past thirty years and is intent on obtaining the ability to both seize Taiwan by force and prevent the United States from generating enough combat power to intervene and defend the island. The Pentagon began to restructure its conventional forces in the Western Pacific at the end of the 2010s, implementing new operational concepts designed to fight …

Diaspora Politics And A Rising China: Ambivalent Ties Amid Geopolitical Changes, Jiaqi M. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past decade, the rise of China on the global stage has witnessed the emergence of members of the Chinese diaspora as new meso-level actors in mediating Sino-Western relations. As part of China’s burgeoning “public diplomacy” around the globe, Chinese migrants organize cultural events to establish grassroots and semi-official exchanges between China and the West. This chapter provides a state-of-the-art examination of so-called “diasporic public diplomacy” whereby the Chinese diaspora plays an increasingly important role in promoting China’s soft power abroad. Based on long-term fieldwork in a prominent emigrant community, I analyse how Chinese national policies envision two specific …

The Overlooked Reality Of Shareholder Activism In China: Defying Western Expectations, Chun Zhou, Wei Zhang, Dan W. Puchniak

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Despite shareholder activism being in the global spotlight, shareholder activism in China – the world’s second largest economy – remains largely a black box. Using unique hand collected data, we reveal the overlooked reality that shareholder activism in China is thriving – with 156 major shareholder activist campaigns, over two-thirds of which have occurred in the last five years. Contrary to Western conventional wisdom, we find that whether the target company is a private owned enterprise (POE) or state-owned enterprise (SOE), has no statistically significant effect on the success of activist campaigns. Private shareholders have undertaken, and in over half …

China's Global Leadership Aspirations And Domestic Support For Climate Policy, Chen Xiang, Terry Van Gevelt

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In recent years, China has pivoted towards a global leadership role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Notwithstanding the complex political economic reasons underlying China's global leadership aspirations, we are interested in seeing whether the associated national discourse championed by the state increases domestic support for climate policy. That is, do China's international leadership aspirations foster a unifying sense of national pride among the domestic population, thereby lending support to the legitimacy of the state and expediting the implementation of costly domestic climate policies? To test our hypothesis, we enumerated a vignette experiment embedded with conjoint analysis to a …

The Development Trend Of Belt And Road Initiative In Egypt, Shuang Wu, Yon Machmudi

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

This article discusses three main points: First, Egypt occupies an undoubted central position in the Arab world. Second, in addition to its great regional influence, Egypt also occupies an important geographical position. Egypt is located on the two continents of Europe and Asia, and the Suez Canal in it is an important energy channel for the Indian Ocean to enter Europe and the Mediterranean. Third, China and Egypt have a history of friendly exchanges. Since the drastic changes in the Middle East in 2011, Egypt's national power has gradually weakened. To achieve economic development and social stability, Egypt urgently needs …

Alternative Agrifood Systems And The Economic Sustainability Of Farmers' Cooperatives: The Chinese Experience, Zhanping Hu, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Most registered farmers' cooperatives in China are de facto private enterprises; while many bring economic gains to farmers, they do not function as cooperatives. Among the small minority that started as authentic cooperatives, however, most struggled to provide economic benefits to members, unable to achieve economic sustainability. The failure of true farmers' cooperatives in China has been widely studied; the success of the few that did become economically sustainable, however, remains poorly understood. Using a sample of 70 farmers' cooperatives across the country and comparing three “extreme cases”—cooperatives that are both authentic and economically successful—with the rest, this study argues …

Audit Firms' Entry Into H-Share Audit Market And Mainland Audit Pricing: Evidence From China, Rui Zhang, Gaoliang Tian, Zichen Tian, Liuchuang Li

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether mainland Chinese audit firms’ entry into the H-share market to provide audit services affects their mainland audit pricing. Design/methodology/approach: Using data on A-share listed companies in China from 2008 to 2018, a difference-in-differences model to test the research question is designed. Robustness tests are conducted to rule out alternative explanations and additional tests to shed light on the extent and inner workings of the main effect. Findings: The entry of mainland audit firms into the H-share audit market leads to a significant decrease in mainland audit pricing. Moreover, this main effect is (i) …

(In)Visible China: Understanding Chinese Global Orders, Hassan Karrar, William A. Callahan, Carwyn Morris, Stephen Whiteman

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Where is China going? What does its alternative global order look like? We hear a lot about China’s grand projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, but how are they experienced on the ground in Africa, South America, and Asia?The Chinese Global Orders project brings together twenty-two scholars from five continents to explore these questions. As these four commentaries show, it seeks to pluralize the discussion by exploring “Chinese” beyond the PRC nation-state, “Global” as a space beyond the international, and “Orders” as a plural set of norms.The project seeks to do more than just describe Global China’s material impact, …

The Race To Invest: What Is The Driving Cause Of The European Union's Increased Involvement In Latin America?, Bryson C. Frank, Soo Bin Im, Alyssa Powell

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This article analyzes the rhetoric of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and high-level EU leaders who speak about the EU’s role in Latin America and the role of China in the region. To what extent are MEPs and other EU officials concerned about Chinese expansion and is China the reason why the EU seeks increased collaboration with Latin American partners? Our paper documents who in the EU is advocating for increased ties with Latin American countries, why they are doing so, and whether the influence of China is inducing rhetorical changes in EU foreign policy. Findings suggest that while …

Legitimacy At Sea: Expanding Considerations Of Sea Control, Ian Birdwell

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Sea control has been marketed and accepted as a norm within the global commons, with a variety of states arguing for their visions of control to be viewed as legitimate. As a piece of the global commons, sea lanes are a critical enabler for the global economy and possess significant military and political significance, yet the literature revolving around ideas of sea control treats it as a military achievement at the end of a campaign and remains focused on naval power as the key mechanism for state involvement. What best explains the mechanism states use to achieve sea control, especially …

China In Global Digital Trade Governance: Towards A Development-Oriented Agenda?, Yujia He, Ka Zeng

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Existing literature on the behaviour of rising powers in global trade governance has yielded inconclusive evidence about their role and impact. This article contributes to this literature by examining China's role in global digital trade governance, an issue area which so far has not received sufficient scholarly attention. Specifically, it addresses the following question: as a self-proclaimed leader of the developing world in digital development, to what extent do its preferences and negotiation approach align with the interests of other developing countries? Analysing China's participation in three sets of negotiations using process tracing, the article argues that China's dual identity …

Commentary: No One Wants An Asian Nato, Except Japan’S New Pm Ishiba, Benjamin Ho, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In a joint commentary, SMU Professor of Political Science William A Callahan discussed the reluctance of Southeast Asian nations, excluding Japan under its new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, to embrace a collective defense system aimed at countering China. They explained why Mr Ishiba's proposal for an Asian North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would benefit Japan, how it works in Europe, and why it is unlikely to gain strong support in Southeast Asia.

Socioeconomic Status, Physical Inactivity, And Bmi In Transitional Urban China: Contextualizing The Theory Of Fundamental Causes, Jun Xu, Fang Gong, Wei Zhao

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Drawing insights from the theory of fundamental causes of disease, this study examined the relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and selected risk factors in transitional urban China. Specifically, under China’s distinct institutional and sociocultural environment, we examined how contextualized SES (i.e., party membership, hukou status, housing ownership, and subjective social status) and conventional SES indicators (i.e., education, income, and occupation) were associated with physical inactivity and body mass index (BMI). Utilizing the urban subsample of the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), we found that individuals with higher education, income, Communist Party membership, and urban hukou status had lower risks …

A New Look At Russia-China Relations: Implications, Expectations And Reality, Aidana Bolat

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This thesis examines the nature of the evolving relationship between Russia and China from 2018 to 2024, focusing on political, economic, and security aspects. The research aims to determine whether their interactions are an alliance, a partnership, or a more complex arrangement. The study takes a multidimensional approach: analyzing political cooperation through their participation in international organizations such as the UN, SCO, and BRICS, mutual support in UN voting records, diplomatic commitments, and regional political strategies. Economic cooperation is assessed through trade dynamics and analysis of official trade data. Security cooperation is examined by examining arms sales, joint military exercises, …

Ten Years As Boundary Object: The Search For Identity And Belonging As 'Hongkongers', John Lowe, Darlene Machell Espena, George Wong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article examines the complex process of symbolic boundary-making of ‘Hongkonger’ cultural identities through the lens of the controversial 2015 film Ten Years, which is a celebrated omnibus production comprised of five short segments that picture a dystopic end to Hong Kong’s cherished way of life in the year 2025. The article is premised on an interdisciplinary approach engaging with cultural studies and film studies. On one hand, it explores how Ten Years functioned as a boundary object, a vast terrain within which cultural identities of what it means to be a Hongkonger are constructed, banished, imagined, and performed under …

The Partnership Question As A Scale Question: Extending The Theorization Of Entrepreneurial Urbanism In China, Yong Zhang

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In this article I examine recent theoretical and empirical exchanges around partnership-based urban governance between North Atlantic and Chinese academics and policymakers. I argue that the latest wave of de jure private–public partnerships in urban China reflects an ongoing process of governance rescaling beyond conventional entrepreneurial urbanism theory. I propose an analytical framework that foregrounds successive experimental partnerships as tensions between institutional continuity and change arising from rescaling. In this study I examine variegated actually existing partnerships in Jiyuan, China, to identify generalizable ideal types of partnership-driven governance rescaling. I conclude by suggesting to enhance the theorization of entrepreneurial urbanism …

The Strategy Of Featuring The Game Honor Of Kings Through Characterization In The Drama Series You Are My Glory (2021), Bella Homario, Adi Kristina Wulandari

International Review of Humanities Studies

The drama series You Are My Glory (Nǐ shì wǒ de róngyào你是我的荣耀), directed by Wang Zhi (王之), aired in 2021 and consists of 32 episodes. This research focuses on the first 14 episodes, which showcase the popularity of the game Honor of Kings-HoK (Wángzhě róngyào王者荣耀) through the interactions and dialogue between the two main characters, Yu Tu (于途) and Qiao Jingjing (乔晶晶). The integration of the popular online game HoK with the drama, starring top actors and actresses, represents a novel strategy that warrants further study. The analysis is conducted intrinsically by examining the characterizations of …

Building Responsible And Sustainable Supply Chain Frameworks: Limits Of International Investment Law And The Csr Initiatives Taken By The Eu And China, Stefanie Schacherer

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Supply chains play a pivotal role in global economic relations, fostering growth, employment, and poverty alleviation. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are central actors in these chains, bearing responsibilities towards workers and the environment. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards guide MNEs in assessing the societal and environmental impacts of their activities, though these standards remain largely voluntary. Recent investment treaty practice shows a trend to incorporate CSR provisions in international investment agreements (IIAs), but such clauses fail to impose direct human rights, labour and environmental obligations on investors. Amidst this landscape, the EU and China, major players in global trade and investment, …