Date: Friday November 24, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM BJT

Zoom: 936 4149 8993; Passcode: 1124

Guest Speaker: Dr. Bimal Adhikari, Assistant Professor in the Political Science and International Relations Department, Nazarbayev University

Abstract

Is China a rising power? If yes, how is it exerting its growing influence on the global stage? In this talk, I argue that China is seeking to increase its influence within the existing international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN) and its specialized bodies, and is also creating parallel, competing institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to meet its vision of the world order. I suggest China’s influence within existing international institutions has not caught up with its growing ambition. Thus, along with seeking greater influence within the UN system appropriate for its power status, China has looked to another avenue of influence: creating new bureaucracies outside the UN and the specialized agencies and in competition with them, where it can be more influential in changing the liberal world order. This talk begins by highlighting the initiatives taken by China to increase its influence within the two principal organs of the UN: the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council, followed by a discussion on the rationale behind China’s decision to create the AIIB and how it serves its interests.

Bio

Dr. Bimal Adhikari is an Assistant Professor in the Political Science and International Relations Department at Nazarbayev University. His research interests include international institutions, foreign policy, and human rights.

This event is part of the lecture series of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China Governing China Cluster.