PhD proposal
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, ITS IMPLICATION ON INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHINA AND SINGAPORE.
Submitted to: City University of Hong Kong, Department of Asian and International Studies.
By: Huynh Phan Thang
Prepared in consultation with Dr. Toby Carroll, AIS Department RESEARCH STATEMENT
International aid has become an indispensable part of international relations; almost all countries operate as either aid donors or recipients (Hook 1995). Aid and influences can comes in different forms, such as international cultural relations and scholarship provisions, to promote its political, economic and cultural interests (Fraser 1965; Saul n.d). The rationales for these programs are for a country to gain soft power as well as for economic competitiveness. ‘‘Soft power’’ is the ability to get ‘‘others to want the outcomes that you want’’ through co-optation instead of coercion (Nye 2004). The scholarships provide a mechanism for training future leaders from other countries who might serve as opinion leaders once back in their home countries. In this respect, these educational exchange activities are the continuation and supplement of national foreign policy (Tian et al. 2004). On the other hand, Drucker (1993) and Porter (1990) emphasize the importance of the economics and productivity of knowledge as the basis for national competition within the international market place. Among many governments involved in foreign assistance activities, the rationales, mechanisms, practices, and results of foreign aid are a widely debated topic (Bobiash 1992).
China and Singapore have been active in this form of strategy. China has been offering the scholarship program since 1950 and the number of foreign students may have reached 11000 per year in recent years (Wu and Zhen 2006). Singapore, despite its small size and population, offers up to 2000 scholarships a year (Seah 2012). The
REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, ITS IMPLICATION ON INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHINA AND SINGAPORE.
Submitted to: City University of Hong Kong, Department of Asian and International Studies.
By: Huynh Phan Thang
Prepared in consultation with Dr. Toby Carroll, AIS Department RESEARCH STATEMENT
International aid has become an indispensable part of international relations; almost all countries operate as either aid donors or recipients (Hook 1995). Aid and influences can comes in different forms, such as international cultural relations and scholarship provisions, to promote its political, economic and cultural interests (Fraser 1965; Saul n.d). The rationales for these programs are for a country to gain soft power as well as for economic competitiveness. ‘‘Soft power’’ is the ability to get ‘‘others to want the outcomes that you want’’ through co-optation instead of coercion (Nye 2004). The scholarships provide a mechanism for training future leaders from other countries who might serve as opinion leaders once back in their home countries. In this respect, these educational exchange activities are the continuation and supplement of national foreign policy (Tian et al. 2004). On the other hand, Drucker (1993) and Porter (1990) emphasize the importance of the economics and productivity of knowledge as the basis for national competition within the international market place. Among many governments involved in foreign assistance activities, the rationales, mechanisms, practices, and results of foreign aid are a widely debated topic (Bobiash 1992).
China and Singapore have been active in this form of strategy. China has been offering the scholarship program since 1950 and the number of foreign students may have reached 11000 per year in recent years (Wu and Zhen 2006). Singapore, despite its small size and population, offers up to 2000 scholarships a year (Seah 2012). The
References: Bobiash, Donald. 1992. South-South Aid: How Developing Countries Help Each Other. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Dong, L., & Chapman, D. (2008). The Chinese Government Scholarship Program: An Effective Form of Foreign Assistance? International Review of Education, 54(2), 155–173. doi:10.1007/s11159-007-9075-7 Drucker P (1993) Post-capitalist society Fraser, S. (Ed.). (1965). Government policy and international education. New York: Wiley. Hook, Steven. 1995. National Interest and Foreign Aid. Boulder, Colo: L. Rienner Publishers. Nye, Joseph. 2004. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York, NY: Public Affairs. Porter M (1990) The competitive advantage of nations. New York: Free Press. Shambaugh, David. 2005b. Rising Dragon and the American Eagle - Part I [Electronic Version]. YaleGlobal Online Retrieved 27 Oct, 2013 from http://yaleglobal.yale. edu/display.article?id=5601. Singapore Parliamentary Report (1988, June 28), Vol 51, Col 363. Zhang, Xiaohua, Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges Ministry of Education, and the People’s Republic of China News Service (ed.). 2003. Study in China. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong China News Service Press. Zhengping Tian, Lang Xiao and Guping Zhou. (eds.). 2004. Sino-Foreign Educational Exchange History. Guangzhou, China: Guangdong Education Press.