Please join the Provost Office in a Works in Progress event featuring Associate Professor of Political Science Seung-Youn Oh and Assistant Professor of Growth and Structure of Cities Lauren Restrepo.
Professor Oh will discuss her recent research, “Turning China Fever to China Fear? China’s Economic Statecraft and Its Impact on Foreign Businesses”. China has increasingly resorted to economic statecraft to advance its strategic goals as the world’s second-largest economy, largest manufacturer, and the center of global supply chains. China’s sanctions include various informal measures, including subtle exclusion of foreign firms from the Chinese market and unofficial state-led boycotts.
This talk will present an analytical framework that evaluates the impact of China’s sanctions on foreign businesses across different sectors, focusing on short-term state-led boycotts and mid- to long-term vertical industrial policy. Through case studies of China’s sanctions on foreign companies since 2017, the paper will demonstrate how Chinese sanctions are turning today’s “China Fever” into tomorrow’s “China Fear.”
Professor Restrepo will discuss her recent research, "The City and the Division Become One: Forced Labor, Urban Development, and the Rescaling of Statehood in Xinjiang’s Totalitarian Turn". Following a spate of both targeted and mass-casualty attacks by ethnic Uyghur extremists, Xi Jinping personally visited Xinjiang in mid-2014 to re-assess governance in this region of northwest China. The ensuing crimes against humanity – including a wave of mass "re-education" within concentration camps that has since evolved into a population-scale program of coerced labor – have been well documented by activists and international media. Less clear are the ways in which the modern slavery of Uyghurs has become a tool to effect both the economic and spatial development of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC): a corporatized paramilitary institution that reports directly to the highest levels of the party-state.
In this talk, Professor Restrepo will use planning and policy documents to explore the sea change in development strategies, particularly in southern Xinjiang, since 2014. Professor Restrepo will then discuss the methodological experimentation, setbacks, and new paths forward in her work as she continues to employ statistical and remote-sensing data to shine a light on the nearly opaque relationship between coerced labor, the urbanization of the XPCC, and the rise of totalitarianism in Xinjiang.
The free luncheon event will occur 12:45-2 p.m, Thursday, Oct. 20, in the Ely Room, Wyndham Alumnae House.
Bryn Mawr College welcomes the full participation of all individuals in all aspects of campus life. Should you wish to request a disability-related accommodation for this event, please contact the event sponsor/coordinator. Requests should be made as early as possible.