Pardee Institute’s Collin Meisel presents a paper on China's Influence in South Asia at a Symposium

Collin Meisel, the Associate Director of Geopolitical Analysis at the Pardee Institute for International Futures, joined other scholars at the 2024 International and Area Studies Symposium at the University of Oklahoma. Collin presented a conference paper on China’s influence capacity in South Asia from the Cold War era to the present.

The conference paper, co-authored by Jonathan Moyer, the Director of the Pardee Institute for International Futures, analyzed the shifting patterns of China's presence and power in the region. Their analysis utilized the Formal Bilateral Influence Capacity (FBIC) Index, a tool developed by the Pardee Institute to track relational power in the international system using data that cut across economic, political, and security dimensions of bilateral influence.

The International and Area Studies Symposium provides scholars a platform to meet annually, share their research, challenge prevailing narratives, and foster academic growth. Collin noted that the conference paper received positive comments from the participants. with other presenters offering various perspectives on conceptualizing and measuring China's influence abroad.

He added that “while some remain skeptical of a global index of influence capacity – area studies folks can at times insist that a measure conforms to every nook and cranny of the few cases which they are thoroughly familiar – all agreed that our data and analysis are an important contribution to the study of influence in the international system.”

Collin further credited Adam Szymanski-Burgos, formerly, a Research Associate at the Pardee Institute, who led a team to update the FBIC Index data used in this conference paper.

At the same event, Suisheng Zhao, Professor and Director of the Center for China-U.S. Cooperation at the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, presented a keynote speech.

The conference paper reinforces Pardee Institutes' mission of building and using real-world data to analyze the complex world and the long-term dynamics of change in human, social, and natural systems. This also provides resources to policymakers, academics, and others seeking to improve how we contemplate and plan for the global future.