CHINA’S SOFT POWER AIMS IN SOUTH ASIA: EXPERIENCES OF NEPALESE STUDENTS IN CHINA’S INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION ROMI JAIN Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Political Science University of Rajasthan 2000 Master of Business Administration San Francisco State University 2010 Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN URBAN EDUCATION at CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY May 2018 © COPYRIGHT BY ROMI JAIN 2018 We hereby approve the dissertation of Romi Jain Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education Degree, Policy Studies This Dissertation has been approved for the Office of Doctoral Studies, College of Education and Human Services and CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY, College of Graduate Studies by ______________________________________________________ Dissertation Chairperson: Anne Galletta, Ph.D. Curriculum & Foundations ____________________________ Department & Date ______________________________________________ Methodologist: Joanne E. Goodell, Ph.D. Teacher Education __________________________ Department & Date _______________________________________________ Committee Member: Marius B. Boboc, Ed.D. Curriculum & Foundations _____________________________ Department & Date ________________________________________________ Outside Member: Jonathan Ring, Ph.D. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Department of Political Science ________________________________ Affiliation, Department & Date March 7, 2018 Candidate’s Date of Defense ACKNOWLEDGMENTS At the outset, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Anne Galletta, my chair, for her unrelenting cooperation, towering guidance and remarkable promptitude, coupled with her personal attention and warmth, which was instrumental in bringing my dissertation to fruition. Without exaggeration, Dr. Galletta has been an extremely caring and determined captain in sailing the ship across. I owe my sincerest thanks to Dr. Joanne Goodell for her continued support and valuable guidance in developing this thesis with her incisive feedback and helpful suggestions. In addition, Dr. Goodell’s critical guidance on formatting and style in MS Word enriched the quality of my dissertation. Without mincing words, I am especially thankful to Dr. Marius Boboc for his critical role in toning up this research, apart from contributing to my learning outcomes through his exemplary teaching techniques. I would like to thank Dr. Jonathan Ring for giving his critical feedback which informs this research. I am tremendously thankful to the Nepalese student participants who reposed trust in me and shared their experiences, which underpin this thesis. At times, there were emotionally overwhelming moments for me as I heard and reflected on their stories. Indeed, I am filled with excitement to share those experiences with the global audience. My special thanks go out to an array of scholars and academicians from Nepal who contributed to this study in several important ways, whether it be sharing their forthright views on the subject or helping me with recruiting the participants. They are: Dr. Lok Raj Baral, Dr. K.C. Khadga, Mr. Keshab Poudel, Professor Madhukar S.J.B. Rana, Mr. Sujeev Shakya, Mr. Hira B. Thapa and Mr. Sanjay Upadhya. I am especially grateful to Professor S.J.B. Rana for his best efforts to respond to my requests for help. I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Joseph Tse-Hei Lee and Dr. Zhiqun Zhu for reading through some of my earlier drafts and offering their useful feedback. I wish to express my deep appreciation for the faculty and staff of the CSU Urban Education Program, notably Dr. Graham Stead and Ms. Rita Grabowski, for their unstinting support and assistance. I am deeply indebted to Annamarie Crell for showering her sisterly affection on me and helping me in myriad ways. It is a blessing to have an angelic, life-long friend like her. I am extremely thankful to the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California for its generosity in support of this work. I owe deep gratitude to Ms. Salma Khan for her extreme care and concern and to her husband, Nabeel, for his kind support. Last but not least, my family has been a source of great strength throughout my doctoral journey. My parents evinced great interest in the minutest of details, whether it be my classes or exams. My father’s dictum that “the researcher’s first commitment is to the truth” helped me transcend my personal beliefs in conducting the research and plumbing the minds of the participants to see the world from their perspective. Rahul, my brother, has been thoroughly supportive and enthusiastic about my progress in the doctoral program. My husband, Prince, has been remarkably cooperative, lending an ear to my stories of struggle and success and cheering me up with lovely messages. I am immensely thankful to my mother-in-law and father-in-law for their blessings and consistent support. CHINA’S SOFT POWER AIMS IN SOUTH ASIA: EXPERIENCES OF NEPALESE STUDENTS IN CHINA’S INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION ROMI JAIN ABSTRACT Internationalization of higher education is a major characteristic of China’s higher education policy. Accordingly, the Chinese government is fervently encouraging the spread of Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes, student exchange programs, recruitment of international students, and international collaborations. South Asia is no exception to China’s higher education outreach. Against this background, this qualitative study examined experiences of South Asian students with regard to China’s higher education program(s) in relation to the explicit and implicit aims of China’s soft power policy. Soft power refers to the power of attraction and co-optation, which is based on a nation’s intangible resources such as “culture, ideology and institutions” (Nye, 1990). A case study approach was employed by using Nepal as the site for an in-depth investigation into academic, socio-cultural and political experiences of Nepalese students in relation to China’s higher education policy and programs. Soft power constitutes the theoretical framework. Data sources included interviews with 20 Nepalese students (including alumni) and six experts, You Tube videos, images, news stories, books, journal articles, documents, and reports. Findings indicate that whereas the Chinese political system — specifically governance — and foreign policy as well as certain traits of the Chinese society drew admiration from the Nepalese students, the Chinese education program was found deficient in brand reputation and Chinese cultural vi penetration remains challenging, while such issues as racism and color discrimination stood out as social ills in the Chinese society. The study bridges a critical gap in the existing literature that is largely exclusive of the South Asian region where China is rapidly strengthening its strategic foothold, as well as making a significant contribution to the literature on linkages between soft power and education by employing the educational soft power model. The findings should be useful to education policy analysts, specifically those who are associated with international education, Nepalese and Chinese policy makers, China observers and specialists, prospective foreign students in China, and students and scholars of international relations. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................xv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 China in South Asia .....................................................................................2 China’s Interest in South Asia .........................................................4 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................9 Conceptualization of Soft Power ...............................................................10 Prevailing Hardness .......................................................................10 Persisting Advocacy for Soft Power ..............................................11 Parallel Approaches of Hardness and Softness ..............................12 China and Soft Power ................................................................................12 Rationale and Motivation ...............................................................13 China's Approach to Soft Power ....................................................15 Research Questions ....................................................................................16 Significance of the Research ......................................................................17 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .......................................................................19 Soft Power and Higher Education ..............................................................20 Positive Perceptions of the Host Country ......................................22 Influence Over Future Leaders ......................................................23 viii Public Diplomacy...........................................................................24 Transmission of Culture .................................................................24