A Foucauldian Power Analysis of China's Confucius Institute in Africa

Power, Knowledge and the Institutionalisation of China's Foreign Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID2309010
AuthorsSiyuan Li (0000-0001-9095-1886, University of Leeds, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume58
Issue8
Pages1465-1481
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00219096221086546
OpenAlexW4225310420
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

The Confucius Institute (CI) was established in 2004 by China to disseminate its language, culture and other forms of positive knowledge to people of different nationalities. By critiquing existing analytical frameworks of the CI, this article draws on Foucault's conception of power, which explains the role of language, culture, value and other non-material elements in the operation of power, to examine the case study of the CI in Africa. By investigating the CI's power structure, its internal power operations and its power effects, this research seeks to ascertain the role of the CI in the institutionalisation of China's foreign policy towards Africa

China · Foreign policy · Institutionalisation · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Power structure · Social science · Sociology · China's Global Influence and Migration · International Development and Aid · Law · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

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