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The impact of Professor Breslin's research has spanned two programmes of activity: 1) informing UK policy debates about EU-China relations by engaging with Government and Opposition members; and 2) shaping debates about Chinese politics among international practitioners through European and East Asian policy networks. Based on two decades of research, Breslin has systematically highlighted the importance of understanding the domestic drivers of Chinese foreign policy in formulating responses to China's rise. Most notably, he points to the way in which domestic development agendas spill over into international relations. This core insight has benefited a range of key governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in formulating their strategies toward and engagement with China.
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.
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.
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.
Evans' research on visual culture, history and memory in China has reached diverse audiences through international exhibitions, public lectures, workshops and school outreach projects, and collaborations with Chinese artists and documentary film-makers. In treating the Mao era `propaganda poster' as an important visual resource for the teaching and learning of 20th century China in schools, her work opens up a new approach to the study of modern and contemporary China in the UK's national curriculum. A recent pioneering outreach project with schools in London has resulted in plans with primary school teachers to develop an online visual resource of the Mao era within the framework of the national Key Stage 2 curriculum and accessible to schools across Camden and beyond. This project includes an important collaboration the Freie University in Berlin (working with Westminster's Sustainable Digital Repository (SDR)) to apply the latest digital archive and internet project management technologies to develop Westminster's Chinese Poster Collection materials as an interactive online resource for the teaching of China to UK primary school pupils. In collaboration with Stephanie Hemelryk Donald (University of New South Wales), the public dissemination of Evans' work in the UK, USA and Australia has also created new spaces for debate amongst Chinese migrants and their children about experiences denied open scrutiny in China.
The University of Nottingham's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies (SCCS) has, through its China Policy Institute (CPI), been at the forefront of explaining the crucial lessons of China's journey towards economic superpower status. By shedding light on major concerns such as the labour and housing markets, best practices in statistics, the banking system and future "growth engines", it has influenced policy in a number of Chinese ministries, the country's National Bureau of Statistics and the People's Bank of China. It has also assisted in training a new generation of Chinese officials, highlighted methodologies that are now being applied to other emerging economies and raised awareness of key issues at grass-roots level.
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.
Dr Julia Lovell's authoritative research in Chinese culture and history from 1800 to the present day has made a significant impact in three main areas of cultural life. Communicated to a range of academic and non-academic audiences in successful books, particularly in her prize-winning book The Opium War (2011), press articles and radio interviews, her work has influenced international media and public discourse on Chinese cultural history; promoted translations of Chinese literature, particularly with Penguin Asia's successful translations of significant Chinese authors; and improved the quality of the UK's cultural engagement with China.
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.
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.