Belt and Road in Europe’s Periphery: In Search of a Framework for Understanding the Impact of Global China in the Balkans
07.12.2021 - 07.12.2021
11:30am-1:00pm (Paris time)
Venue:
Online
Abstract:
Contemporary Sino-Balkan relations, and in particular, the impact of the Belt and Road in the Balkans have been a subject of an intensifying policy debate. However, when it comes to the scholarly input on the topic, much of the emerging literature has fallen short of providing a sound conceptual framework that helps grasp the intricacies of this relationship. Contemplating how that gap can be filled, this presentation discusses the key questions and puzzles that surround China’s increasing presence and impact in the region. Drawing on theoretical insights from reflexive social sciences and original empirical research, the project proposes a framework that takes in account both structural factors as well as agencies of different actors, and discerns the role of intention and mediation (and lack thereof) as facilitators of outcomes of the interactions between China and the Balkan countries.
Speaker:
Dr. Anastas Vangeli (University of Ljubljana and EURICS Fellow)
Discussant:
Dr. Dragan Pavlićević (Xi’an Jiaotong - Liverpool University, Suzhou)
Biographies:
Anastas Vangeli is an Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is also a Research Fellow at the EU*Asia Institute, ESSCA School of Management, and a Non-Resident Fellow Senior at the Torino World Affairs Institute. Anastas has written on Global China, its domestic transformations and its ideational impact abroad, the Belt and Road Initiative, Europe-China relations (with a focus on Central, East and Southeast Europe), and nationalism in Europe and beyond. His work has been published in Journal of Contemporary China, The China Journal, China & World Economy, Asia Europe Journal, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs and Nationalities Papers. He is a fellow at EURICS in the period November 13 – December 14, 2021.
Dragan Pavlićević is Associate Professor at the Department of China Studies at the Xi’an Jiaotong – Liverpool University. His research interests span both China’s domestic and international politics, including China-Europe relations, the politics of China’s infrastructure projects and investments abroad, and China’s multilateral initiatives. Dragan’s research has been published by leading academic and think tank outlets, and referenced in various media and policy documents internationally.
Register in advance for this webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gnQSWaC9QZaTsz74S1PdHg.
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Picture above: The Smederevo steel mill (Serbia) acquired in 2016 by the Chinese State-owned Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. Image credits: Lošmi, CC BY-SA 3.0
