German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

DEEN

Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

Associate

Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

  • Short CV

    • Since 10/2024: Associate at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies

    • 01/2014 - 09/2024: Senior Research Fellow (50 %) at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies

    • Since 10/2013: Part-time chair (50%) for East Asian politics (with a particular focus on China) at the Department of Social Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt

    • Since 01/2011: Chair for East Asian politics (with a particular focus on China) at the Department of Social Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt

    • 1999 - 2009: Editor of Journal of Current Chinese Affairs published by GIGA Institute of Asian Studies

    • Since 2003: Part-time Work during Parental Leave

    • Since 1999: Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies, working in the field of China's domestic politics; Editor (with Karsten Giese) of the journal China aktuell – Journal of Current Chinese Affairs published by GIGA Institute of Asian Studies

    • 1997/98: Associate Professor (deputy) in Modern Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University

    • Education: 1986-97: Studies and Doctoral Studies in Chinese Studies and Economics in Erlangen (1986-89), Beijing (1989-91) and Heidelberg (1991-97); 1997 PhD in Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University; 1998/99: Postgraduate Course in European Studies in Berlin, degree "Master of European Studies"

    Current Research

    • The politics of the People‘s Republic of China

    • Ideology and political legitimation

    • State-society relations in the Chinese reform period

    • Protection of weak groups and interests in China and Japan

    • Comparative research into authoritarianism

    • Asia-related area studies

    Countries and Regions

    • VR China

    • SVR Hongkong

    Memberships

    • German Political Science Association, Membership in discipline-specific association or network, since 2006
    • Association for Social Science Research on China, Membership in region-specific association or network, since 1999
    • German Association for Asian Studies, Membership in region-specific association or network, since 1999

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Associate

    [email protected]

    Publications

    Chapter in Edited Volume | 04/2024

    The Chinese Communist Party's Historical Resolutions as Mind-Engineering Projects

    In November 2021, the Chinese Communist Party approved the Resolution on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century. Together with a first resolution in 1945 and a second one passed in 1981, it forms a string of watershed documents, each of them inaugurating and legitimating a new ‘dynasty’ of Party rule.

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Associate

    International Studies Quarterly | 04/2024

    In the Eyes of the Beholders: The Legitimacy of Global Governance Institutions under Multipolarity

    We investigate how global publics evaluate the legitimacy of two GGIs—the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Group of Twenty (G20)—and multipolarity’s role in those evaluations.

    Dr. Sinan Chu

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Prof. Dr. Amrita Narlikar

    Dr. Johannes Plagemann

    Chapter in Edited Volume | 06/2023

    China’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating Internal and External Challenges

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Associate

    Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft | 02/2023

    Navigating the Dual Dilemma between Lives, Rights and Livelihoods: COVID-19 Responses in China, Singapore, and South Korea

    The COVID-19 pandemic has created a dual dilemma for governments worldwide: between the protection of lives and of individual rights, and more long-term between safeguarding lives and preserving livelihoods.

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Associate

    GIGA Focus Global | 5/2022

    Driving the Wheels of History: The World after China’s 20th Party Congress

    Just in time for President Xi Jinping’s return to the world stage, from which he had been absent for nearly three years of pandemic, the 20th Party Congress has set China’s ideological course. The paper analyses the foreign policy and security agenda Xi has in store.

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Associate

    Research Projects

    Research Project | 01/04/2019 - 31/12/2021

    Drifting Apart: International Institutions in Crisis and the Management of Dissociation Processes (DRIFTS)

    Brexit, US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement under President Trump and the demise of security cooperation between Russia and the West are reminders that international cooperation is fragile. States dissociate themselves from international institutions – either by formally withdrawing their membership, by ignoring their commitments or by creating alternative institutions. The DRIFTS project, coordinated by HSFK, explores the tensions between states that result from these dissociation processes.
    Leibniz Association, 2019-2021

    Research Project | 01/12/2018 - 31/03/2022

    Legitimate Multipolarity

    Global governance institutions work differently under conditions of multipolarity. In a first step, in this project we investigate the legitimacy deficits of global governance institutions under conditions of multipolarity. In a second step, we analyse possible solutions to such problems put forward in rising powers’ foreign policy discourses. Legitimate Multipolarity adopts an empirical approach to the study of legitimacy and contributes to a global understanding of multilateralism’s merits, pitfalls – and prospects for reform.
    DFG, 2018-2022

    Research Project | 01/03/2010 - 01/12/2016

    Ideological Change and Regime Legitimacy in China

    In the eyes of most contemporary witnesses, the collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the end of ideology. At least in the case of China, this was a hasty assumption. Over the past two decades, we have observed a reemphasis on party ideology in the People’s Republic. Ideology has again become a key resource for the legitimation of party-state power. The objective of the research project has been to analyze changes in party ideology and assess the implications for the legitimacy of party rule.
    BMBF, 2010-2016

    Media Contributions

    Deutschlandfunk (DLF) | Interview | 30/10/2021

    China und der G20-Gipfel: Staatschef Xis verpasste Chance

    3sat | Other | 14/12/2017

    Despoten auf dem Vormarsch

    Renmin Ribao (People's Daily) | Quote | 12/07/2017

    China's role in global economic governance

    Lectures

    GIGA Talk | 01/12/2022

    Towards Closer Cooperation with South Korea in the Indo-Pacific

    Towards Closer Cooperation with South Korea in the Indo-Pacific, Online event Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner (Speaker), Dr. Johannes Plagemann (Speaker), Dr. Christian Wirth (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Yul Sohn (Discussant), Prof. Dr. Sook-Jong Lee (Discussant), Prof. Dr. Chaesung Chun (Discussant), Dr. Martin Thümmel (Discussant), Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig (Moderator)

    The European Union and Germany are implementing strategies for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. How does South Korea fit into the picture? In this GIGA Talk, we will present and discuss findings from a collaborative, policy-oriented research project examining the potential scope for closer cooperation therewith.

    Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner

    Dr. Johannes Plagemann

    Dr. Christian Wirth

    Prof. Dr. Yul Sohn

    Prof. Dr. Sook-Jong Lee

    Prof. Dr. Chaesung Chun

    Dr. Martin Thümmel

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    GIGA Forum | 26/10/2022

    Making China Great Again? Political and Economic Implications of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress

    Making China Great Again? Political and Economic Implications of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress, Online Event Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Dr. Lance Liangping Gore (Speaker), Dr. Margot Schüller (Speaker), Dr. Sebastian Biba (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig (Moderator)

    The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is widely regarded as being set to be one of the most important political events of the year. Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term as state president. In this GIGA Forum, experts will discuss the political and economic implications hereof.

    Dr. Lance Liangping Gore

    Dr. Margot Schüller

    Dr. Sebastian Biba

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    GIGA Forum | 17/05/2022

    The War in Ukraine and the Global South: Perceptions, Reactions, and Implications

    The War in Ukraine and the Global South: Perceptions, Reactions, and Implications, Online Event Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig (Speaker), Dr. Johannes Plagemann (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Victor Mijares (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Moderator)

    While most United Nations members quickly condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine, a few actors in the Global South adopted a “neutral” stance. This GIGA Forum discusses how countries in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa perceive the war, are reacting to it, and what its consequences are for these states.

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Dr. Johannes Plagemann

    Prof. Dr. Victor Mijares

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Teaching

    Teaching | Goethe University Frankfurt | 2013

    State-Society Relations in China

    Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Germany

    Teaching | Universität Hamburg | 2010

    Modul Landeskunde Ostasien B

    Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany

    Teaching | Universität Hamburg | 2008

    Political Systems in East Asia

    Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany

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