Since the initial commercialization of the men’s Chinese professional football league, Chinese actors have started investing increasingly more resources in the foreign football sphere. Players,...Show moreSince the initial commercialization of the men’s Chinese professional football league, Chinese actors have started investing increasingly more resources in the foreign football sphere. Players, coaches, trainers and even clubs from all over the world have all been the subject of Chinese investment over the last few decades. Although spending has increased exponentially, the level of both the Chinese professional competition as well as the men’s national team have not improved at the same rate. This study uses existing literature from both academic sources as well as marketing and news reports on the subject to better understand the reasons to why investing in globalized resources has increased while also providing possible explanations to why the level of competitiveness has not been influenced as much. The study suggests that through the frameworks of soft power and state corporatism we can understand the levels of spending as larger state-driven strategy to both stimulate the football industry as well as to improve China’s soft power through international competitions. This study also suggests that based on the current academic and professional discourse surrounding Chinese competitive football, the reason for professional Chinese clubs’ relative low level of performance is due to a lack of incentive for the clubs to invest in future talent development. Although this study’s conclusions remain to be theories based on the interpretations of other academic researchers and experts, it still confirms that there is still much urgency for further research on this subjectShow less
Het doel van dit werkstuk is het Daoïstisch gedachtegoed te koppelen aan de schilderkunst van de Song dynastie, om er zo achter te komen op wat voor manier deze filosofie kunst uit deze periode...Show moreHet doel van dit werkstuk is het Daoïstisch gedachtegoed te koppelen aan de schilderkunst van de Song dynastie, om er zo achter te komen op wat voor manier deze filosofie kunst uit deze periode heeft beïnvloed. De theorie rondom het begrip "leegheid" wordt uiteengezet, en vervolgens concreet gemaakt door het beschouwen van een zestal werken.Show less
Abstract Over the past five years, researchers have observed a significant intensification of Sino-Iranian relations. This development culminated in March, 2021, when the two countries struck the...Show moreAbstract Over the past five years, researchers have observed a significant intensification of Sino-Iranian relations. This development culminated in March, 2021, when the two countries struck the twenty-five year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership deal. This paper investigates the nature of current Iran-China relations by analyzing the main drivers behind this partnership. In doing so, it evaluates three recent developments that are crucial in this respect. These developments are (1) the striking of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership deal, (2) the ongoing negotiations on the renewal of the Iran nuclear deal, and (3) the current dynamics within Iran’s domestic politics. Following this analysis, this paper argues that current Sino-Iranian relations are relatively strong, and are likely to grow even stronger in the near future. This assessment is based on the rather stable nature of the main drivers behind this partnership. In that regard, this paper found that continuous Unites States containment policies towards Iran have indirectly contributed to the intensification of Sino-Iranian cooperation. As a result of these policies, Iran has grown increasingly dependent on China, both politically and economically. Furthermore, due to the highly profitable nature of this cooperation for Iran’s powerful conservative faction, a significantly different Iranian approach towards China is not expected in the near future.Show less
De gedichten van Zheng Xiaoqiong worden vanuit een ecofeministische invalshoek geanalyseerd. Zheng Xiaoqiong is een voormalig migrantarbeider die in haar poëzie schrijft over de zware...Show moreDe gedichten van Zheng Xiaoqiong worden vanuit een ecofeministische invalshoek geanalyseerd. Zheng Xiaoqiong is een voormalig migrantarbeider die in haar poëzie schrijft over de zware omstandigheden van vrouwelijke migrantarbeiders en over de gevolgen van industrialisatie voor de natuur. Ecofeminisme is een combinatie van feminisme en milieubewustzijn. Daarnaast komen dagong-literatuur en ecoliteratuur aan bod.Show less
In China, the term "leftover women" is used to describe young, succesful and single women in their twenties. Popular media depict "leftover women" as picky and selfish. In existing literature the...Show moreIn China, the term "leftover women" is used to describe young, succesful and single women in their twenties. Popular media depict "leftover women" as picky and selfish. In existing literature the role of the Chinese media and state in creating this image is often discussed. But how much influence does this image have on the next generation of Chinese women? And do they make important choices in life in order to avoid becoming a "leftover woman"? By conducting in-depth interviews with young Chinese women that study in the Netherlands, this study aims to create an understanding of their opinion about "leftover women" and how their life is influenced by the image around "leftover women".Show less
De focus van deze scriptie ligt hoofdzakelijk op hoe de identiteit van de arbeidsmigrant kan worden geportretteerd met behulp van dagong-gedichten. Dagong-gedichten zijn gedichten geproduceerd door...Show moreDe focus van deze scriptie ligt hoofdzakelijk op hoe de identiteit van de arbeidsmigrant kan worden geportretteerd met behulp van dagong-gedichten. Dagong-gedichten zijn gedichten geproduceerd door arbeidsmigranten en geschreven onder industriële en precaire omstandigheden.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights into women painters in China, by investigating their use of orchids to symbolise femininity and in which ways the orchid became a theme for...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights into women painters in China, by investigating their use of orchids to symbolise femininity and in which ways the orchid became a theme for self-identification of female painters.Show less
The financial crisis of 2007-2008 had a great negative impact on the world. It also revealed how much the global economy is dependent on financial centres in the West. In the wake of the crisis in...Show moreThe financial crisis of 2007-2008 had a great negative impact on the world. It also revealed how much the global economy is dependent on financial centres in the West. In the wake of the crisis in 2010, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assessed that the Asian region had a huge infrastructure gap of trillions in US dollars which needed to be filled. According to a report of the ADB, increasing infrastructure in Asia and fixing this gap would decrease the Asian region’s reliance on the Western economy and reduce the risk of a worldwide financial crisis reoccurring. China and Japan have hugely increased their efforts to address the need for infrastructure in the last decade, in both a competitive and cooperative manner. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are two initiatives which were announced in 2013 by the same Chinese leadership and are focused on the building of infrastructure. Japan has responded to these initiatives in a very ambiguous manner. On the one hand, Japan launched the Partnership for Quality Infrastructure (PQI) in 2015, just before the AIIB was officially signed, as an infrastructure-funding initiative which has competed with the BRI. On the other hand, Japan still started “conditional engagement” with China on 52 BRI projects despite Japan’s initial doubts about the ability for proper governance and lending practices. This thesis will examine both the cooperative response and the competitive response of Japan towards the BRI and AIIB. To analyse the cooperative element, it will use Brooks’ modern liberalist theory, which argues that Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and International Production Networks (IPNs) have become the more influential part of economic interdependence, and has mostly replaced the factor of interstate trade. From Brooks’ modernized liberalist perspective, this thesis argues that the Keidanren, one of Japan’s business federations has played a significant role in the road to cooperation between China and Japan on BRI projects. To analyse the competitive element, this thesis will use Nabers’ discursive approach and apply it to competition between China’s BRI/AIIB, and Japan’s Asian Development Bank (ADB) and PQI. It will focus on the standards and values portrayed by both countries’ initiatives, and it argues that they are converging, which is producing a fertile ground for increasing and deepening cooperation between China and Japan on infrastructure projects in third countries.Show less
