The Finnish Oriental Society and the student organisation Karavaani are planning a one-day seminar in spring 2024, where students will have the opportunity to present their theses (bachelor’s or master’s theses) related to languages and/or cultures of Asia and Africa. Theses can be either recently completed or nearing completion. The aim is to provide students with an opportunity to present their work to an academic audience and receive feedback/support from more experienced researchers. The planned format for the seminar would consist of a traditional 20-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute discussion. With this form (https://forms.gle/k5VifUsbUa88Krcb8), we are surveying students’ interest in presenting their own work and the number of participants. We kindly ask for responses to the form by January 15, 2024. You can direct your questions either to Sauli Pietarinen, the contact person for Karavaani (sauli.x.pietarinen@helsinki.fi), or to Repekka Uotila, the secretary of the Finnish Oriental Society (sihteeri@suomenitamainenseura.org).

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Julie Yu-Wen Chen just published a chapter in this new book.

In September 2013, Xi Jinping announced the launch of a Chinese-led megaproject, the Belt and Road Initiative, that would transform Asia’s position within the global economy. Some ten years on, the BRI, while facing significant obstacles, has gone from strength to strength.

How has China’s BRI diplomacy affected its image across Asia? What does the BRI mean for Sino-US competition? Will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and footprint in the region hinder the BRI’s success? Addressing these questions and more, the authors of China Moves West offer a critical appraisal of how the BRI is progressing, how it is being perceived, and how it is navigating challenges in the geopolitically sensitive regions of Central, South, and West Asia.

CONTENTS:

• Introduction―B. Houghton and A. Ehteshami.
• The Belt and Road Initiative: Asianization Amid China’s Great Revival―A. Ehteshami.
• Conceptualizing Asia in China: The Challenges for BRI Diplomacy―H. Liu.
• Sino-Russian Competition: The Reshaping of Central Asia―G. Sciorati and K. Silvan.
• China’s Changing Image in Central Asia: Exercising Soft and Hard Power―J. Y-W. Chen.
• Geopolitics and Russia: Implications of the Invasion of Ukraine for the BRI―M.N. Katz.
• Sino-Indian Competition: The Development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor―J. Garlick.
• China in Afghanistan: The BRI as a Vehicle for Influence―J. Liu.
• The BRI in the GCC States: China’s Route to Regional Predominance?―B. Houghton.
• The BRI in Conflict Zones: The Case of Syria―K.A. Houghton.
• Sino-Iranian Relations: Challenges Facing Beijing and Tehran―J. Scita.
• Türkiye Eyes the BRI: Prospects for China’s Project at the Eurasian Crossroads―D. Göçer and C. Ergenç.
• Israel: Between the United States and China―Y. Shichor.
• China Moves West: Ten Years of the Belt and Road Initiative―H. Fan.

More information can be found here. If you have access to the library of the University of Helsinki, you can read the e-book here.