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One of the most important global issues today is the growing importance of Chinese nationalism. Nationalism underpins many of the international and domestic policies of China's leadership, but the phenomenon is often treated as though it emerged only in recent years. Rana Mitter's research has challenged this view by drawing links between historical Chinese nationalism (particularly as it relates to the war against Japan, 1937-45) and its contemporary manifestations. This has been eagerly taken up both within China and internationally by the media, business and governments.
Recent Chinese migrants to London have come mainly from mainland China and not, as previously, from Hong Kong and South-East Asia. LSE research has established the difficulties that new migrants face in accessing existing support mechanisms within the Chinese community. The research findings have put the needs of these new migrants on the map of central and local government and Chinese third sector organisations. They have helped change the prevailing view of the Chinese community as a `model' community, with no need for external support, to a more realistic appraisal of the needs of its vulnerable members, who suffer hardships and require help.
The pioneering research of Professor N Gentz and Dr J Ward into cross-cultural engagement and of Dr J Ward on Chinese film has been the basis for a series of ground-breaking educational and cultural collaborations between China and Scotland organised by Edinburgh's Confucius Institute for Scotland (CIS). These significantly enhanced the understandings of China held both by the public at large and by stakeholders across Scotland's business, cultural and educational sectors. Work on cross-cultural engagement through film and photography operated as a particular trigger for these increased exchanges on a range of matters between China and Scotland. The positive impact of these activities has been recognised by a range of stakeholders, including, most significantly, the Scottish Government.
Over the last five years Dr Anne Witchard's research on the representations of China and the Chinese in Britain has generated considerable social, cultural and political impact on an international stage. The research has contributed significantly to international cultural relations between Britain and China, in particular through enhancing understanding of the social and historical ties between these nations. The research has also improved Britain's knowledge of its own multicultural history and altered public understanding of ethnic groups in contemporary urban Britain. Finally, the research has directly influenced the creative industries in their efforts to represent British-Chinese relations today.
Dr Lukas Nickel's archaeological fieldwork, art historical research and philological study have led to his proposition of novel theories that question the conventional wisdom surrounding the influences on, methods of production and historical-contextual details of key genres and elements of the Chinese art historical canon, including the famous Terracotta Warriors. Both in China and internationally, his theories have motivated debate, experimentation, and informed and shifted interpretation amongst those working in a range of cultural institutions as well as the general public.
The China Policy Institute (CPI) at the University of Nottingham's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies (SCCS) has played a significant role in challenging simplistic and stereotypical perceptions of China at a time when the need for a fully nuanced understanding of the country is high on every policymaker's agenda. CPI has advised governments and other organisations on China-related strategies, offering guidance on topics including the nature of the political system and the drivers behind key international relations. Its work has helped inform policymakers, influenced and facilitated the strategic activities of groups including The Elders and the Royal United Services Institute and raised wider awareness of Chinese political culture.
Karl Gerth's work on the role of Chinese consumers in the global economy, and on ways in which Chinese consumerism may create more environmental and policy problems than it solves, has had a significant influence on business leaders seeking to position themselves in the Chinese market, as well as on public discourse around the `rise of China'. Gerth has extended the range and quality of the evidence on the interconnected and wide-ranging ramifications of the shift within China toward a market economy over the past thirty years, and has improved understanding of this phenomenon in ways which have enabled British business to compete more effectively in China.
Research led by Professor Robert Bickers into the massive archive of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service (CMCS) has been of value to scholars working in several fields — including climate change — but it has also had a variety of wider impacts. Members of the general public with an interest in China, teachers looking for fresh resources, UK policymakers seeking to understand the legacy of the British record in China — all these have drawn on the Bristol research. In some cases they have, in turn, contributed to it. This is an example of high quality research, active dissemination and imaginative engagement coming together and having a positive effect on a range of interests from genealogy to international diplomacy. The work was also developed and interacted with a 2006-2014 Language Based Area Studies Scheme's British Inter-university China Centre [BICC], which focused on engagement and knowledge exchange.
The emergence of China as a global actor has attracted enormos attention from academics, policy-makers, journalists and business leaders. The outside world knows little about the perceptions of China's policy elites and their internal debates. By offering an in-depth, systematic and theoretically grounded analysis of Chinese discourse, this research has revitalised the on-going academic and policy debate on the nature and repercussions of China's ascendency. Key findings of the research have been used to stimulate debate at the highest level in governments and diplomatic circles on how best to respond to the changing security environment in the Asia-Pacific region and the rise of China as a global actor in particular. Dr Rex Li has been regularly invited to offer his analyses and insights at policy discussion meetings at leading UK foreign and security policy think-tanks attended by experts and officials of the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Dibyesh Anand has effectively translated his international reputation as a scholar on contemporary politics and international relations of the Tibetan diaspora to impact on public discourse and policy, in particular on self-immolation; the false accusations against Karmapa Lama; the India-China border dispute; and, more broadly, minority-majority relations in the Himalayan region. This has been achieved through:
Anand's standing was reinforced by the Dalai Lama's decision to hold his only public talk at a university in the UK in 2012 at the University of Westminster.