Professor Astrid Nordin holds the Lau Chair of Chinese International Relations in the Lau China Institute. She is also Associate Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Astrid’s research develops critical conceptual tools that draw on Chinese and other global traditions of thought, and uses these to understand global challenges as they relate to China’s growing global role - from the Belt and Road Initiative, through support for overseas Chinese communities, to practices of censorship and resistance. Her favourite thing about her job is learning new things from exciting people, and she welcomes suggestions for collaboration relating to her expertise.

Before joining King’s in 2021, Astrid was Professor of World Politics and Founding Director of Lancaster University China Centre. She has significant experience developing institutional partnerships with Chinese institutions, setting up and leading academic organisations, and collaborating on interdisciplinary projects. She also has great enthusiasm for working with non-academic stakeholders in the arts, policy, and media. She has studied or worked at Peking University, Jilin University, City University Hong Kong, the University of Warwick, and the University of Manchester.

Research

• Chinese ideas of world order
• Chinese foreign policy
• Chinese technologies of surveillance
• Critical social theory
• Emotions in world politics
• Ancient thought in current use
• Ontologies of war and security
• Relational approaches to research

Astrid’s research sits in the intersection of Chinese studies and critical international relations, and contributes to wider debates beyond these disciplines and the academe. It draws on Chinese sources, traditions, and cultural phenomena, to address broader questions about future world relations.

Her current work seeks to advance a relational approach inspired by Chinese and continental philosophies. This approach takes relations as the starting point for analysis, and understands states, identities, or firms as effects of relations, rather than as independent ‘things’ or essences. Together with practitioners and scholars from a range of disciplines, countries, and societal sectors, Astrid uses this relational approach to address a set of key global challenges with China at their core.

Teaching

Postgraduate

• 7YYC0004 Internship
• 7YYC0009 China's International Relations (1949-present)

PhD Supervision

Astrid is especially happy to consider supervision of projects in the following areas:

• Chinese international relations and cultural governance
• Theories of politics and international relations, especially drawing on, developing, or critiquing Chinese theorisations
• Relational theories of global politics
• Decolonial and Global international relations
• Critical approaches to war and security, especially relating to China
• Political concepts of harmony, emotions, family, community
• Impact-oriented projects involving collaboration with stakeholders in areas such as policy, armed forces, cultural sectors, media

Expertise and public engagement

Astrid regularly contributes her expertise through media commentary, public-facing exhibitions and cultural events, and capacity building for stakeholders in policy, business, and the armed forces.

Further details

See Astrid's research profile