Tabita Rosendal

I am a researcher working on the "EU in the Volatile Indo-Pacific" (EUVIP) project. I obtained my PhD in East and Southeast Asian Studies from the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies at Lund University in June 2025.

My work focuses on China's political and economic influence, often referred to as “Global China” from a broader theoretical perspective, in combination with expertise in South and Southeast Asian politics and economies. It is situated within the fields of International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Political Economy, and Area Studies. This enables insights into the relationship between China’s political system and state-business relations, including the linkages between the Chinese Communist Party and state-owned enterprises, as well as between domestic governance practices and the implementation, actors, practices, outcomes, and reception of Chinese foreign policy strategies. This includes the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI), instances of religious and party diplomacy, and the strategic use of narratives and other soft power instruments. My research follows a “bottom-up” approach, engaging with host country agency considerations through fieldwork trips and interviews with key actors. Additionally, it incorporates broader reflections on the ongoing geopolitical competition between China and global/regional actors, such as the contestation between China and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) in the Indo-Pacific.

My dissertation, "Fragmented Power: The Reception of China's Foreign Policy Strategies in Sri Lanka," proposes a theory concerning China’s “Fragmented Power” in its foreign policy pursuits by analyzing the reception of the BRI in Sri Lanka. Through four interrelated and mutually complementary articles, as well as an introductory chapter that ties these efforts together, the dissertation offers novel insights into China’s multifaceted foreign policy strategies, actors, practices, and the perceptions of these engagements among Sri Lankans across various societal strata. I have previously explored cases of the BRI's implementation in Pakistan, Djibouti, and Greece.

I convene and lecture in courses on International Relations in East and Southeast Asia, China's modern history and politics, and the country's economic and political influence in neighboring countries, such as through development aid to Myanmar. I am also an avid public lecturer.