In recent years, the expanding role of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) under the realm of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has drawn worldwide attention and has sparked academic and...Show moreIn recent years, the expanding role of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) under the realm of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has drawn worldwide attention and has sparked academic and policy debates about the attendant risks and benefits of Chinese FDI for recipient countries such as Serbia. The Serbian tradition of non-alignment in foreign affairs, its progress towards EU accession and warm relations with Russia make the country a very significant geopolitical intersection. For these reasons, the case of Chinese FDI in Serbia and its role in EU-Serbian accession negotiations is the central issue in this research. This thesis considers two central theoretical aspects: it considers whether and to what extent Chinese FDI in EU candidate countries is driven primarily by efforts to circumvent EU regulations and it considers arguments for Chinese FDI as an instigator for economic development and growth in Serbia. It employs a case study design that draws on directed content analysis, construing EU-Serbian relations as a particular case or instance of EU relations with EU candidate countries receiving FDI from China. The main finding of this research is that the role of Chinese FDI is dominated by several other issues that receive greater priority in EU-Serbian negotiations.Show less
In this thesis I examine the interaction between the marketization of education and class in Vietnam and China. I used Marxist class theories in combination with Bourdieuian concepts of class...Show moreIn this thesis I examine the interaction between the marketization of education and class in Vietnam and China. I used Marxist class theories in combination with Bourdieuian concepts of class habitus and cultural capital to conclude that marketization of education did not result in changing class relations in Vietnam and China, arguing against Victor Nee’s theory that marketization of education would lead to increased social mobility. Due to marketization the state lost total control over education, however, the new none-state actors and institutions remained subordinate to the state. The dominant class maintained their cultural capital and gained economic capital due to marketization. The working class did not gain the economic and cultural capital needed for access to the marketized education system. This dynamic resulted in a more rigid class divide, making social mobility less likely.Show less
