Fragmented Power: The Reception of China's Foreign Policy Strategies in Sri Lanka

This dissertation proposes a theory concerning China’s “Fragmented Power” in its foreign policy pursuits by analyzing the reception of the “Belt and Road” Initiative in Sri Lanka. The initiative has sparked intense debates and counteractions on the global stage and has become synonymous with Xi Jinping’s assertive approach to foreign policy. However, many aspects of the initiative’s goals, implementation, and host country reception have remained underexplored in the academic literature. Through four interrelated and mutually complementary articles, as well as an introductory chapter that ties these efforts together, this 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.

Article 1 examines China’s utilization of Buddhist strategic narratives to facilitate the smooth implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative in Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority country. Article 2 dives into the case of the Hambantota International Port project, where the interests and efforts of the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese state-owned enterprises, and the Sri Lankan government have converged and diverged in manifold ways. Article 3 illuminates the reception of China’s political and economic efforts among Sri Lankans against the backdrop of regional great power competition, highlighting the limitations of China’s current strategy. Finally, article 4 analyzes the increased party-to-party relations between the Chinese Communist Party and various Sri Lankan parties, including China’s role as a regional “Authoritarian Gravity Center.”

Together, the dissertation contributes to several important, emerging bodies of scholarship on the linkages between Chinese domestic and foreign policy practices, including the adverse effects that this decentralization can bring, China’s increasing use of religious and party diplomacy, the strategic use of narratives, and the importance of contextualized, “bottom-up” analyses showcasing local voices. Consequently, the dissertation also highlights the permeability of China’s international engagements and presence – which can be referred to as “Global China” – by presenting insights on host country agency in the face of its “Fragmented Power."