Confucius Institutes v2 (1)

CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF CHINA’S SOFT POWER 17a secondary main hub for the CI network and allows for weavingthe network electronically. We can see the dense inter-weaving ofrelations in several layers. The first layer (CI hub) is the Hanban or CIheadquarters in Beijing as the central hub for the CI initiative. All CIinstitutes at host universities around the world, the Chinese partnersof the host universities, and the CI Online portal are all linked toHanban. A second layer (CI host-Chinese partner) is the pairingbetween the CI host universities and partner Chinese universities,linking both to Hanban. This interweaving of relations transformsthe network from a single unidirectional hub to a multidirectionalnetwork. A third layer (CI-CI) is the linking of the CI host institutewith other CI hosts in the region. 22 A fourth layer (Chinese partner– CI+CI+CI) is the linking of a prominent Chinese university withmultiple foreign CI hosts. A fifth layer. (CI + Chinese partner + CI+CI, etc.) is the linking of the CI hosts of a Chinese partner to other CIhosts. Each layer adds an element of robustness to the network andultimately to the vitality of the initiative.To simply list the number of institutes, as reports on China’ssoft power often do, does not convey the interwoven and intricatelayers of relations in the CI initiative. The root of the soft poweris not in the listing of institutes, but in the linking of institutes. Acomprehensive network mapping would require inputting the datafor the Confucius Institutes worldwide, connecting them to theirpartner Chinese universities, Hanban, and the CI Online. Anotherlayer not mentioned here consists of the Confucius Classrooms thatare often linked to the local or regional CI. Yet, as extensive as therelational links are, linking the institutes to form a network structurerepresents only a first step in a network communication approach.The second critical step in a network communication approachfocuses on relational dynamics. The sponsor must generate sufficientinteraction among the members in the network to ignite a relationaldynamic in which the members take ownership for maintaining andgrowing the network.