Goethe-University
Faculty 03 Social Sciences
Institute for Political Science
Westend Campus, PEG building
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6
Room 3 G.156 (3rd floor)
60323 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49 (0)69 798-36555
Fax: +49 (0)69 798-763-36555
E-Mail: b.lang@soz.uni-frankfurt.de
Mailing Address:
Campus Westend
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6
PEG building, postbox 17
60629 Frankfurt am Main
Consultation hours:
Only by appointment
To the homepage of the professorship
VITA | RESEARCH | TEACHING | PUBLICATIONS | TALKS | MEDIA APPEARANCES
Employment history
Since 09/2017 | Research Associate and Teaching Assistant at the Chair for Political Science with a Focus on Chinese and East Asian Area Studies, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main |
12/2015 – 08/2017 | Research Associate in the European China Policy Unit, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Berlin |
07/2015 – 11/2015 | Graduate Trainee (project management), Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stuttgart |
2010 - 2014 | Internships in the European Parliament (Brussels/Strasburg), at the NGO Wanra Do (Banikoara, Benin), at the EU Delegation to China (Beijing) and with Transparency International (Lisbon) |
Academic background
09/2014 – 06/2015 | Postgraduate Programme (M.A.) in “EU International Relations and Diplomacy", College of Europe, Bruges (Belgium) |
09/2011 – 08/2014 | French-German Double Master's Degree (M.A.) “Applied Political Science", University of Freiburg (Germany) and Institut d'Études Politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (France) |
09/2013 – 06/2014 | „Licence 3“ (~ B.A.) in Chinese Studies („Langue, littérature et civilisation chinoises“), Université d'Aix-Marseille (France) |
09/2012 – 02/2013 | Advanced Chinese Studies, Nanjing University (China) |
09/2008 – 08/2011 | French-German Double Bachelor's Degree (B.A.) “Applied Political Science", University of Freiburg (Germany) and Institut d'Études Politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (France) |
Scholarships & Awards
2015 | College of Europe International Relations Department Laureate 2015 |
2008 – 2015 | Merit-based scholarship by the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes e.V.) |
2014 – 2015 | College of Europe scholarship by the German Ministry for Education and Research |
2012 – 2013 | China Scholarship Programme by the Alfried-Krupp-Stiftung |
2008 – 2014 | Scholarship of the French-German University (Université Franco-Allemande) |
2007 | Apollinaire-Preis der Robert Bosch Stiftung & Mathematik-Preis der DMV |
Research Focus:
EU-China relations, philanthropy and social movements, governance and anti-corruption, China and international norms
Summer Term 2021 | China and the UN Sustainable Development Agenda |
Winter Term 2020/21 | Civil Society and Philanthropy in East Asia Krisen, Konflikte und Kooperationen in Ostasien |
Summer Term 2020 | China's International Development Policies |
Winter Term 2019/20 | Elective: "Civil Society and Philanthropy in East Asia" Politics in East Asia State-Society Relations in Greater China |
Summer Term 2019 | Good Governance vs. Win-win cooperation? Western and Chinese development policies in East Asia |
Winter Term 2018/19 | Political Science Approaches to the Study of Contemporary East Asia |
Winter Term 2017/18 | Introduction to the Politics of East Asia (M.A. MEAS) |
Winter Term 2015/16 |
Landeskunde Greater China (Universität Tübingen, mit Franziska Plümmer) |
Peer-reviewed Articles
2022 | "Text Mining Xi's 'Anti-Corruption' Campaign: A Quantitative Analysis of Crisis and Post-Crisis Framing", in: Jörg Baberowski & Martin Wagner (Hg.): Crises in authoritarian regimes, Campus. (accepted) |
2021 | (with Heike Holbig): China's Overseas NGO Law and the Future of International Civil Society: A Scenario Analysis of Rules-in-Form versus Rules-in-Use Dynamics, Journal of Contemporary Asia. (accepted) |
2021 | „La participation à la chinoise: Néo-maoïsme, « société civile » et politique étrangère“, in: La « société civile » dans l'action transnationale au concret, Coord. Philippe ALDRIN et Nathalie FERRÉ, Presses Universitaires d'Aix-Marseille. (accepted). |
2021 | "Framing and Localizing Anti-Corruption Norms in Transnational Civil Society Organisations: Transparency International in Portugal", Journal of Civil Society. (accepted) |
2019 | "Anpassung, Einhegung, Aneignung: Chinesische Strategien im Umgang mit internationalen Normen und Akteuren der Zivilgesellschaft", ASIEN 152-153, 24-48 |
2018 | "Authoritarian Learning in China's Civil Society Regulations: Towards a Multi-Level Framework", in: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 47, 3, 147–186; https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jcca/article/view/1184/1191 |
2018 | China's anti-graft campaign and international anti-corruption norms: Towards a “new international anti-corruption order"? Crime, Law and Social Change, October 2018, Volume 70, Issue 3, pp 331–347 |
Other Publications and Online Commentary
Mar 2021 | “What Europe Thinks About Dealing with China". Internationale Politik Quarterly, Spring 2021 Issue: The EU-US-China Triangle. |
Mar 2021 | (with Marina Rudyak): „Globale öffentliche Güter erfordern Prinzipientreue und Kooperationsbereitschaft in der europäischen Chinapolitik“, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Publikationsserie Deutschland und Asien, 29/03/2021. |
Mar 2021 | Shielding Corporate Interests, Europe Leaves NGOs Working in China by the Wayside. ChinaFile. The China NGO Project. 30/03/2021. |
Jan 2021 | "On the Way to the (East) Asian Century", Internationale Politik Quarterly, IP Special, 02-2021, 25-31. |
2020 | “A Better China Strategy for International Civil Society", in: China File, 29/01/2020. |
2019 | “Strengthening the adaptive and collaborative capacity of internationally-operating civil society organisations (ICSOs) related to the rise of China", Sector Guide, ed. by International Civil Society Centre, Berlin, November 2019 |
2019 | "China and global integrity-building: Challenges and prospects for engagement", U4 Issue 2019/7, ed. by David Jackson, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen (Norway); https://www.u4.no/publications/china-and-global-integrity-building-challenges-and-prospects-for-engagement |
2018 |
“Risk Report. Political Risk Scenarios for China", edited by CONIAS Risk Intelligence und Funk Stiftung, Serie Risk Reports 2018, July 2018, https://conias.com/en/risk-report/ |
2018 |
“Civil Society Work in China: Trade-Offs and Opportunities for European NGOs", in GIGA Focus Asia, 6/2018 (with Heike Holbig), https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/publication/civil-society-work-in-china-trade-offs-and-opportunities-for-european-ngos |
2018 | “Analysis: Why Has the Chinese Foreign NGO Law Become a Non-Issue in Europe?", The China NGO Project, ChinaFile, 03/01/2018 |
2017 | “Central Planning, Local Experiments. The Complex Implementation of China's Social Credit System", MERICS China Monitor 43, December 12, 2017 (with Mareike Ohlberg, Shazeda Ahmed) |
2017 | “Ideas and Ideologies Competing for China's Political Future. How online pluralism challenges official orthodoxy", MERICS Paper on China N° 5, Mercator Institute for China Studies, October 2017, Berlin (with Kristin Shi-Kupfer, Mareike Ohlberg, Simon Lang) |
2017 | “Engaging China in the fight against transnational bribery: 'Operation Skynet' as a new opportunity for OECD countries", OECD ResearchEdge Series, March 2017, Paris |
2017 | “What Macron could mean for European China policy", MERICS Blog, 15.06.2017 |
2017 | “After Trump, French presidential candidates vow to protect workers from global trade - and China", MERICS Blog, 16/02/2017 |
2017 | “China's Global Law Enforcement Drive: The Need for a European Response", MERICS China Monitor 36, January 2017 (with Thomas Eder, Moritz Rudolf) |
2016 | “Germany and the 'Belt and Road' Initiative", in: Frans-Paul v.d. Putten et al. (ed.): Europe and China's New Silk Roads. A Report by the European Think-tank Network on China, December 2016, pp.24-29 (with Jan Gaspers) |
2016 | “EU struggles to build up ASEAN as a counterweight to China", MERICS Blog, 28/10/2016 |
2016 | “Questioning not the EU, but the 'Western system': European crises through the lens of Chinese media", MERICS China Monitor 33, July 2016 (with Jasmin Gong, Kristin Shi-Kupfer) |
2016 | “Western NGOs in China: not trusted, but still needed", MERICS Blog, 06/05/2016 |
2016 | “China and EU Strategic Thinking on Asia: Towards a Strategic Slim Down", in: Olivia Gippner (ed.): Changing waters. Towards a new EU Asia Strategy, LSE Special Report 21, April 2016, pp. 38-48 (with Jan Gaspers) |
2016 | “China's new Charity Law, a 'Made in China 2025' strategy for philanthropy", MERICS Blog, 18/03/2016 |
2015 | „Von TTIP bis TPP: Internationale Freihandelsabkommen schlagen in sozialen Medien Chinas Wellen“ [From TTIP to TPP: International free trade agreements make waves in Chinese social media], Stimmen aus China, 05/10/2015 |
2015 | “Taiwanese Lobbying in the European Union: 'Workable Diplomacy' and its Limitations", in: EU Diplomacy Papers, 8/2015 |
2015 | “The Prospective EU-China Bilateral Investment Treaty: Wider Regional Implications in East and Southeast Asia", in: EU-China Observer, 3/2015, pp. 11-15 |
2015 | “East meets West: Why a coordinated EU policy for the 'One Belt One Road' initiative is much needed", in: MERICS Insights – Young European Perspectives on China, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Berlin, pp. 35-37 (mit Chen Yunnan) |
2014 | “La genèse d'un « militantisme académique » contre la corruption. Conditions de possibilité et stratégies de l'implantation locale de Transparency International au Portugal" [The genesis of an 'academic activism' against corruption], Master's thesis, Institut d'Études Politiques d'Aix-en-Provence, September 2014. |
2012 | Chinas interne und externe Entwicklungspolitik: Auf der Suche nach einem ‚chinesischen Entwicklungsparadigma' [China's domestic and foreign development policy: In search of a Chinese development paradigm], München: GRIN Verlag. |
Talks at Academic Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops
Dec 2018 | “China's new civil society regulations: gauging the role of authoritarian diffusion and international versus domestic learning", ECPR General Conference, Hamburg, 24.08.2018 |
Dec 2018 | “China's Foreign Policy and Civil Society Spaces Abroad", DVPW-Kongress 2018, Frankfurt, 27.09.2018 |
Sep 2018 | “The party leads, the people follow? Understanding the internationalisation of China's non-profit sector", International Workshop “Voices of East Asia 2.0", Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 6.12.2018 |
Aug 2018 | “Restraining, Replacing, Reorienting? The Contested Role of International Non-Profit Organisations in China" (约束,取代,还是重新定位?国际公益组织在中国的具有争议性的角色), Sino-German Conference Good Life, State and Society, Freie Universität Berlin, 8.12.2018 (with Heike Holbig) |
Jun 2017 | “China's anti-graft campaign and international norms: Towards a ‚new international anti-corruption order'?", Conference Talk at the International Corruption Research Forum, Paris, 15/06/2017 |
Feb 2017 | “The ideological battle for China's future. The role of 'the West' in official and unofficial political debates", Presentation at the Merics International Academic Workshop on Chinese Ideology, Berlin, 23/02/2017 (with Kristin Shi-Kupfer, Mareike Ohlberg, Simon Lang) |
Jun 2016 | „Offene Konflikte als ‚neue Normalität' in den EU-China-Beziehungen?“ [Open conflicts as the 'new normal' in EU-China relations?], Lecture at the University of Tübingen, 30/06/2016 |
Jun 2016 | “Le militantisme académique contre la corruption. Nouvelles dynamiques de l'engagement" [New dynamics in academic activism against corruption], Conference Talk at the Congrès annuel de l'Association française de Science Politique [Annual Congress of the French Association for Political Science], Aix-en-Provence, 06/2015 |
Aug 2015 | “Lobbying regulation: beyond trading in influence and conflict of interest", Conference Talk at the Annual Conference on Corruption and Political Misconduct, University of Sussex, Brighton, 08/2015 (with Luís de Sousa and Susana Coroado) |
Sep 2014 | “The social psychology of corruption and its implications for law-making", Talk at the academic workshop The Economics of Corruption 2014: Seeking the Nudges for Reform, University of Passau, 09/2014 |
Selected non-academic Talks
Dec 2018 | “The international implications of China's social credit ratings", European Parliament, S&D Digital Europe Working Group Conference on Digital Human Rights in China, Brussel, 5.12.2018 |
Oct 2018 | “China and Global Integrity-building: Prospects for Engagement?", International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), Copenhagen, 23.10.2018 |
Oct 2018 | “Shrinking Civic Space: How It Plays Out in Asia and How We Should Deal with It", GIGA Berlin Talk with Patrick Köllner, Berlin, 4.10.2018 |
Sep 2018 | “欧洲公益慈善文化差异对社会合作的影响" [Different philanthropic cultures in Europe and their implications for civil society cooperation within the EU], China Global Philanthropy Institute, Beijing, 12.09.2018 |
Sep 2017 | “计划、测定、改善社会影响 – 社会公益团体所面临的要求和挑战", Jingshi Philanthropy Lecture, China Philanthropy Research Institute, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 15/09/2017 |
Sep 2017 | “Assessing Philanthropy's Impact? Some reflections on the necessity and limitations of evaluating charitable activities and advocacy work", Talk at the Philanthropic Leadership Platform – China-Europe, China Global Philanthropy Institute, Stiftung Mercator & European Foundation Centre, Beijing, 13/09/2017 |
Apr 2017 | “Europe-China Civil Society Cooperation/ In Search of Ways Forward", host of a panel discussion with Isabel Hilton (CEO, ChinaDialogue) and Andreas Fulda (University of Nottingham), German National Academic Foundation/Young China Watchers, Berlin, 27/04/2017 |
Mar 2017 | “China's 'Operation Skynet' and the need for a European response", Conference Talk at the 2017 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum, Paris, 31/03/2017 |
Jul 2016 | “European Crises through the Lens of Chinese Media", Presentation at the EastWest Institute, Brussels, 12/07/2016, with Jo Leinen (MEP), Amb. Fleischer, Kristin Shi-Kupfer and Jasmin Gong |
Aug 2017 | „ASEAN wird 50. EU bleibt Vorbild“ [ASEAN's 50th anniversary: The EU remains a model], Radio interview, SWR 2 Journal |
Mar 2017 | „China zähmt die NGOs: Gefahr für die Einparteienherrschaft“ [China tames the NGOs], Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 07/03/2017, p.10 |
Mar 2017 | “Overseas NGOs in China: Left in Legal Limbo", The Diplomat, 04/03/2017 (with Kristin Shi-Kupfer) |
Jan 2017 | “The Pitfalls of Law Enforcement Cooperation With China", The Diplomat (with Thomas Eder), 21/01/2017 |
Jan 2017 | “专访:北京要让本土非政府组织取代国外NGO", TV interview, DW News, 02/01/2017 |
Sep 2016 | “How to Counter China's Global Propaganda Offensive", The New York Times, 21/09/2016 (with Mareike Ohlberg) |
Mai 2016 | „Fremde Federn: Bertram Lang. Kulturelle Soft Power aus China?“ [Cultural Soft Power from China?], Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 07/05/2016, p.8 |
April 2015 | „Flüchtlingspolitik: Warnsignale an Europa“, Cafébabel, 20/04/2015 |
April 2015 | “The Uphill Battle for a humane EU migration policy", Cafébabel, 15/04/2015 |