Public lecture: Dr. Ilker Gündoğan, "The Politics of Football in the People's Republic of China: Institutional Change and Political Steering Under Xi Jinping" (18.12.2024)

The Department of Sinology welcomes all students as well as everybody who is interested to Dr. Ilker Gündoğan's (University of Würzburg) public lecture on "The Politics of Football in the People's Republic of China: Institutional Change and Political Steering Under Xi Jinping". The lecture will be held on December 18th (18:00 st) in room 17 (Philosophiegebäude).

Abstract

In recent years, football has become an important field for institutional change and political steering in China. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has placed football at the centre of its national rejuvenation agenda, seeking to transform the country into a powerful sports nation. However, this ambitious plan has triggered a series of contentious interactions between party-state actors, international and local socio-economic actors, who often have to strike a delicate balance between political expectations, market dynamics and human rights.

Based on Ilker Gündoğan's upcoming monograph "The Politics of Football in the People’s Republic of China", this lecture delves into the intricate world of Chinese football politics and offers a comprehensive analysis of how the sport has become a locus for achieving broader social, economic and political goals. Implications of the Chinese party-state’s institutional transformation efforts towards ‘top-level design’ in this policy field, which aim to centralise and hierarchise policy-making authorities, are examined. The Chinese party-state’s attempts at political steering, including international sport diplomatic interactions as well as interactions with Chinese social and economic actors, will also be explored.