From Enemy Studies to Area Studies: Reflections on Israel Studies in China

Publications

Song Lihong (Department of Religious Studies and the Glazer Institute of Jewish and Israel Studies, Nanjing University; HYI Visiting Scholar, 2020-21)

Paper removed January 2024

An updated version has been published in the Journal of Israeli History 

Abstract: Having emerged from the context of enemy studies in the 1960s and 1970s, Israel studies in China is developing rapidly within the framework of area studies owing to the impetus of the Belt and Road Initiative, which was launched in 2013. This essay addresses the beginnings of Israel studies in China, some Chinese perceptions of Israel that have exerted significant impacts on Israel studies in China, and the challenges for future growth that Israel studies scholars in China are facing.

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