So Similar, So Different, So Chinese: Analytical Comparisons of the Confucius Institute with its Western Counterparts

Abstract

This article adopts the lens of a global “cultural terrain of struggle” in unfolding analytical comparisons of the Confucius Institute with its Western counterparts in three layers: their purposes, operating models and provisions. It explains why the Confucius Institute has similar goals to its Western counterparts but is perceived differently from them, and what gives the Institute its unique Chinese features. The hidden barriers are revealed by employing the theoretical frameworks of Orientalism, cultural hegemony and the knowledge–power nexus. The difference in operating models is surely a major factor that distinguishes the Confucius Institute from its Western counterparts, but it is an oversimplification to only focus on the visible difference in locations without challenging the roles of Orientalism and cultural hegemony, at the heart of which lie hidden differences in power positions in this uneven terrain. In discussing some closures of Confucius Institutes, the article also reveals that the Chinese government’s role as both a sponsor and censor is another critical difference and a major factor that attracts scepticism.