PROJECTS

CHINA’S GLOBAL IDENTITY

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI, CO-INVESTIGATOR: BARTOSZ KOWALSKI

The research project "Ideas and identities in Chinese foreign policy" presents the evolution and changes taking place in the Middle Kingdom in relation to ideological discussions that shape China's international identity. The main goal of the project is to create a diagram based on constructivist considerations. This will allow us to understand Beijing's behavior on the domestic scene in an area such as state modernization, and to present a new perspective on China's international policy. According to the authors the changes taking place in the policies of foreign countries are the result of an intersubjective exchange between intangible entities such as ideas or concepts. By adopting constructivist assumptions, the authors assumed that the changes in Chinese foreign policy are the result of the intangible interaction of traditional Chinese ideas with the Western way of thinking. As a result of constant interaction, China's international identity is being shaped, which is defined in terms of the national interest of contemporary China. The project argues that since the Opium Wars Chinese leaders create three types of China international identity: in the late Qing’s dynasty the identity of the state was introduced, then during Mao Zedong’s period and in the Cultural Revolution China presents itself as the ideology, and finally after Tiananmen in 1989 the cultural identity was introduced especially after 9/11/ and the American war on terror.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Mierzejewski D., Kowalski B., China’s Selective Identities: State, Ideology and Culture, Palgrave, Macmillan, Singapore 2019.
  • Mierzejewski D., „Kult jednostki a problem tworzenia „rewolucyjnej” tożsamości w okresie rewolucji kulturalnej”, Azja Pacyfik 2015, nr 18, ss. 90-107. https://czasopisma.marszalek.com.pl/images/pliki/ap/18/ap1803.pdf.
  • Mierzejewski D., Modeling Identity. The Financial Crisis and China's International Status In: The Quandaries of China's Domestic and Foreign Development, ed. D. Mierzejewski, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego, Lodz 2014, ss. 58-75.
  • Kowalski B., “China’s foreign policy towards Central and Eastern Europe: The ‘16+1’ format in the South–South cooperation perspective. Cases of the Czech Republic and Hungary,” Cambridge Journal of Eurasian Studies, 2017 https://doi.org/10.22261/7r65zh.
  • Kowalski B., “Holding an empire together: from the Manchu garrisonto a Chinese province – army and state building in Qing Xinjiang”, Ming-Qing Studies 2017, (ed.) Paolo Santangelo, Rzym. https://www.academia.edu/35445895/Holding_an_Empire_together_Army_Colonization_and_State-building_in_Qing_Xinjiang.

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN CHINA

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI, CO-INVESTIGATOR: PRZEMYSŁAW CIBOREK, MATEUSZ CHATYS

The research project "The Roles of local governments in Chinese foreign policy" analyzes the evolution of the role of local authorities in Chinese foreign policy in the period of reforms and opening after 1978. The economization of Chinese foreign policy and the increase in interaction with the outside world have stimulated the competition and rivalry between regions. In this situation the central government had to dynamically respond to the needs of local actors in external policy. As a result, this process led to the necessity of centralization of power and attempts to introduce division of tasks for regions in foreign policy. Thus, in order to maintain the unitary status of the state, Xi Jinping announced the "Belt and Road" initiative. In this context, the project is based on the research hypothesis that with the increase in the external interaction of local actors, their internal influence increased, which led to the need to centralize their tasks in China's foreign policy, which is reflected in the Belt and Road initiative. The hypotheses indicated above are analyzed through the prism of case studies of individual local actors: Sichuan and Chongqing, Guangdong and Hainan, and Heilongjiang and Yunnan. The selection of the sample is justified by two variables: the geographical location of the corresponding provinces of the interior and the coast, the separation of both Chongqing from the Sichuan province and Hainan from the Guangdong province, and in the case of Heilongjiang and Yunnan, the fact that both provinces were included in the so-called “bridgeheads” in the foreign policy of the PRC and both are located on the periphery of China (Heihe-Tengchong line).

PUBLICATIONS

CHINA IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI, CO-INVESTIGATOR: BARTOSZ KOWALSKI, JAROSŁAW JURA, MARIO ESTEBAN RODRIGUEZ

The research project "Belt and Road Initiative" in developing countries: People's Republic of China as a multilateral and normative power" is a response to wide-ranging discussions on the growing role of China in international relations. After Xi Jinping (2012) came to power adopted the more assertive foreign policy, promoting the "Chinese model" in developing countries. In the first part, the project deals with the perception of developing countries in Chinese foreign policy. Based on the analysis of the declarative sphere in the ASEAN + 1, (10 + 1), 17 + 1 formats (the format of cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe), the China-Africa Cooperation Forum and the China-Latin America and Caribbean Forum, the project presents multilateral and normative mechanisms in the wider context of multilateral cooperation. Based on the theoretical achievements of researchers of international relations, incl. Robert Keohane, John Ruggie and Edward Haliżak, the research team verifies and discusses the major features of China relations with the Global South. Moreover, the importance of the theory of international relations pointing to the essence of interpersonal relations (relational theory) presented by Qin Yaqing and Emilian Kavalski is emphasized. In this context, the project touches the normative dimension of Chinese multilateralism that is mainly based on the promotion by Beijing of the "Chinese model", also known as the "Beijing Consensus". In the second part of the project the research team presents an analysis of China's activities in the selected countries of the above-mentioned formats. In the case of Southeast Asia, there are two countries: Myanmar and Thailand, in the case of Central and Eastern Europe it is Poland and Serbia, in the case of Africa it is Kenya and South Africa, and in Latin America it is Brazil and Chile.

PUBLICATIONS

CHINA'S MULTILATERALISM AND SINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: PRZEMYSŁAW CIBOREK

The research topic “China's multilateralism in the context of the Sino-American interactions in Central and Southeast Europe” aims to identify the primary motivations for conducting an active foreign policy of the People's Republic of China towards the countries of Central and Eastern Europe under the 16/17+1 cooperation mechanism with special regard to Sino-American interactions in the region. It does so by analyzing China’s multilateralism from both theoretical and practical dimensions. The research of the Sino-American interactions is carried out on a sample of three countries of the 17+1 format, namely Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The rationale for this selection is a public opinion survey, which was conducted in the group of households of 17+1 countries in the context of assessing China's activity in the international arena. Results show that it was best assessed in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The project addresses the questions as follow: first, to what extent China’s policy in Southern Europe is a part of China’s policy towards the U.S., or has China has been trying to export its overcapacity to the region, second how do both countries interact in South Europe and what kind of leverages the governments have to influence the policy of three selected case studies and third, how both powers can cooperate in the broader area of South-North corridors in Central and Eastern Europe. The preliminary research shows that, in assessing the effectiveness of cooperation with China, too much attention is paid only to the main economic, demographic and geographical factors, often neglecting a fact of a big powers’ rivalry in the region.

CHINA-US IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: PROF. DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI, CO-INVESTIGATORS: PROF. PAULINA MATERA, PROF. MAGDALENA REKŚĆ, PHD DOMINIKA KACZOROWSKA-SPYCHALSKA, PHD BARTOSZ KOWALSKI, PHD JOANNA BECZKOWSKA, PHD MARCIN SOCHA, PRZEMYSŁAW CIBOREK, MATEUSZ CHATYS

The project “Sino-American political and economic interactions in the time of COVID-19” aims to identify and analyze the challenges for the liberal global order as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ongoing changes for the future world order. The main element in the process of redefinition of the post-World War II global order is the declining role of the United States and the growing importance of the People's Republic of China (PRC) with its authoritarian model of society management, internationalization, and the new technologies. An important aspect of the process, is the PRC’s authorities support of the expansion of Chinese companies in the world, such as Huawei, under the framework of the "Made in China 2025" industrial and economic modernization plan. The theoretical framework of the project is based on defining the liberal world order with its normative dimension and the global transition of power in the context of COVID-19. The confrontation between the two powers is also visible on a rhetorical level: in the statements of politicians and in media coverage. Moreover, the project aims to map the interactions between China and the United States, which have a decisive influence on the redefinition of the international system. The starting point of the project is the analysis of building the competitive advantages of the PRC, which is based on the development of new technologies: artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and digital currency in the era of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0)". Moreover, the project aims to answer the questions of how the COVID-19 pandemic and the US "trade war" with the PRC will affect the model of China's development and how both superpowers conduct indirect, or proxy relations with third countries and organizations. The research will be based on uniformly distinguished independent variables in separate case studies: Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, Central Europe, and the European Union (EU).

PUBLICATIONS

CHINESE DIPLOMACY TOWARDS SOUTHEAST ASIA

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: MATEUSZ CHATYS

The research project entitled "The concept of patron-client in peripheral diplomacy of the PRC on the example of relations with Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines" was supported by the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Lodz as part of the second edition of faculty research grants 2020-2022. Project team: M. Chatys, M.Sc., Period 2021-2022.

The research project focuses on changes in Chinese foreign policy, starting with the seizure of power by Xi Jinping in 2012 in  ​​China's policy towards Southeast Asia. The research project investigates whether and to what extent China uses the concept of patron-client in peripheral diplomacy concerning bilateral relations with countries involved in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, with particular emphasis on Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The research is based on an in-depth analysis of China's political and economic actions in relation to the three analyzed countries and their response to these actions. Given the strategic importance of the South China Sea (due to key trade routes and natural resources) in the global dimension, China's actions are confronted with US policy in the region as one of the elements of the struggle for international domination between the two powers. The theoretical foundations of the research project focus on the concept of patron-client, which is most often used in scientific research on a micro-scale. An additional element of the analysis is the PRC's foreign policy, with particular emphasis on peripheral diplomacy, initiated in the new formula immediately after the 2013 conference on Chinese foreign policy. The project is conducted in cooperation with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) research center in Singapore.

PUBLICATIONS

CHINA IN CEE AND 16+1

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: PROF. DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI, CO-INVESTIGATORS: PHD BARTOSZ KOWALSKI, PRZEMYSŁAW CIBOREK

The research project "Economic and political activity of the People's Republic of China in the region of Central and Eastern Europe" aims to explain the role of the Chinese 16+1 multilateral mechanism in the CEE region while determining its effectiveness. For this purpose, the declarative sphere of the format was analyzed in detail, interpreting the official messages published after the summits of heads of governments of states involved in the cooperation mechanism. The report also defines the motivations of selected 16+1 countries to pursue an active policy towards China. The research team conducted a sectoral analysis of the competitive advantages of the countries in the region to utilize their economic relations with China optimally. The research focused on investigating the relations between the CEE region countries and global powers, the size of the Chinese diaspora population in the region's countries, and the public opinion's views towards China. The report results assess the main problems from the perspective of effective political and economic cooperation in the bilateral and multilateral dimensions. Numerous field studies were carried out as a part of the project implementation, including Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. The project was financed by KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation.

PUBLICATIONS

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN 16+1 FORMAT

PRINCIPAL INVERSTIGATOR: DOMINIK MIERZEJEWSKI, CO-INVESTIGATOR: MATEUSZ CHATYS

The research project "Interaction of local authorities in the 16 + 1 format" examines the way in which the central government of the People's Republic of China uses local governments in its overall foreign policy, with particular emphasis on the countries of the 16 + 1 format. In the first part the author discusses the theoretical understanding of the activities of Chinese local authorities in the international arena. Then, the first part is confronted with the reality of local governments engagements in the 16 + 1 format, supported by the qualitative analysis of guidelines issued after the summits. An additional aspect of the research was considering agreements on partner cities and their impact on the course of cooperation between individual regions in China and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Another element of the research is a detailed quantitative analysis of the China-Central and Eastern Europe investment and trade fair in Ningbo, aimed at indicating the scale of cooperation of individual CEE countries with China and at selecting the most promising sectors for the future cooperation. The study also included case studies of the activities of the Chinese province of Sichuan in the CEE countries as well as the city of Łódź and the Łodzkie Province in China. The last element of the research discusses the perspective of the European Union, with particular emphasis on the European Committee of the Regions and the innovative EU-China sustainable urbanization platform. The report published by the University of Lodz Press provides the decision makers with recommendation how to effectively use the local governments in the relations with Mainland China.

Publication financed under the project: "Support for the local government and civic dimension of Polish foreign policy 2018" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland based on the agreement BDG-575/2018.

PUBLICATIONS

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the website to function properly.

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Our website uses cookie files (so-called cookies) for statistical, advertising and functional purposes. Thanks to them, we can customize the site to Your needs. Anyone can accept cookies or have the option to disable them in the browser, so that no information will be collected.
Navigate to Privacy Policy