Log in
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 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.
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.
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.
Sussex research has both contributed to a new phase of EU cohesion policy and been embodied into several areas of the new Chinese Poverty Alleviation Strategy. The underpinning research detailed in this case study includes analysis of the relative economic performance of regional economies in Europe and of Chinese development and disparities. It led to the researcher being invited as the only European academic to work on an EU-China high-level policy dialogue which, in turn, led to a series of major contributions to policy-focused field research where report recommendations contributed to policy development in both the EU and China.
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 on organic agriculture and organic food production in China by Professor Richard Sanders has contributed to the successful (re) adoption of organic agriculture there over the last twenty-odd years. With the formation of the Organic Food Development Centre (OFDC-MEP) under the auspices of the then State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA — now the Ministry of Environmental Protection) in 1994, the Chinese government officially began the arduous task of persuading farmers to forgo conventional, chemical-based agriculture in favour of organic farming. From a negligible base, China now has more farmland sown to organic crops than any developing country and the highest percentage share (0.8%) of any medium/large developing country. Organic food, locally grown and/or processed, is now well-established in China. Organic farming has not only led to environmental benefits but also to poverty reduction and eco-tourism in parts of the Chinese countryside. Sanders has worked with the OFDC since its inception and these successes result from changes in government policy and institutional change which have been encouraged through Sanders' research and published papers, and through his face-to-face contact with significant stakeholders.
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.
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.
Pastoralism supports the livelihoods of over 5 million people in Inner Asia. Comparative examination of the effects of specific pastoral policies on outcomes in Inner Asia has benefited supranational agencies and national policymakers responsible for pastoral management and reform, by providing them with empirically-based recommendations for policy. This has supported policy decisions such as the Pasture Land Utilization Law in Mongolia and the reintroduction of indigenous cattle in Buryatia. The research also led directly to the establishment of the charity CAMDA, which has provided direct aid of £200,000 to Mongolian pastoralists since 2008.