
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
Doctoral student

I am a PhD Candidate at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies. I am also a board member of the Nordic Association for China Studies (NACS) and an affiliated researcher of the "EU in the Volatile Indo-Pacific" (EUVIP) project.
My interdisciplinary research, focusing on China's political and economic influence, is situated within International Relations, International Political Economy, and Area Studies. I focus on Chinese foreign policy, including the 一带一路倡议 (“Belt and Road” Initiative), instances of religious and party diplomacy, and the strategic use of narratives and other soft power instruments.
My work emphasizes bridging knowledge gaps regarding the implementation and governance of port projects under the 21世纪海上丝绸之路 (21st Century Maritime Silk Road) by investigating case studies from Sri Lanka. I have previously examined cases from Pakistan, Djibouti, Greece, and beyond. I follow a "bottom-up" approach by engaging with host country agency considerations, including domestic politics, facilitated through fieldwork trips and interviews with key actors.
Additionally, I teach and lecture on several courses related to International Relations in East and Southeast Asia, China's modern history and political system, and Chinese development aid to and influence in neighboring countries such as Myanmar.
Publications
Displaying of publications. Sorted by year, then title.
Ranil Wickremesinghe : The Accidental Buddhist Diplomat
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2025) Figures of Buddhist Diplomacy in Modern Asia
Book chapterSelling Shekou in Sri Lanka : China’s Discursive Use of the “Shekou Model” in Hambantota International Port under the Belt and Road Initiative
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2025) Journal of Contemporary Asia
Journal articleTabita Rosendal i RÆSON SØNDAG om 10 år med Kinas Belt and Road-projekt : Hvad er næste skridt på Silkevejen?
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2023) Ræson
Journal articleChina’s Buddhist strategic narratives in Sri Lanka—benefits and Buddhism?
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2023) The Pacific Review, 36 p.1426-1455
Journal articleKinas buddhistiske diplomati i Sri Lanka : Kina bruger buddhistisk diplomati som en murbrækker for at fremme Silkevejs-initiativet i Sri Lanka
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2022) Kinabladet , p.3-7
Journal articleDevelopment, Debt, and Distress : Examining challenges to China’s Belt and Road Initiative through an analysis of Sri Lanka’s Debt Crisis
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2022) ThinkChina, 9 p.1-13
Journal article (comment)Kinas Silkevejsinitiativ : udfordringer, uvished og udholdenhed
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2022) Danmark-Kina , p.10-16
Journal articleChina’s Belt and Road Initiative : Pragmatism over Morals?
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2021) e-International Relations (e-IR)
Journal article (comment)Battle of the BRI's : How the West plans to challenge China’s rise through infrastructure, and why it might not succeed
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2021) ThinkChina
Journal article (comment)ThinkChina China Study Project Policy Brief : China's New World Order? Chinese Governance Practices of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Tabita Rosendal Ebbesen
(2020)
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