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Jurriaan Hoenderdos MA Hi, I am Jurriaan, a China studies, Asian studies, and Latin American studies graduate, having majored in these academic fields at Leiden University, the Netherlands. My principal interests are Chinese society, politics, and international relations, as well as international relations and global governance more broadly. Perhaps most specifically, I am interested in China—Latin America relations, with a particular focus on the ties between the small states of Central America and both mainland China and Taiwan. ​ ​ Cahuita, Costa Rica

Dec 4, 2023 13 min What's up with China's economy? The Chinese economy faces both immediate crises and silent killers, and solving them will be very difficult. HIGHLIGHTED POST MOST RECENT POSTS Blog overview » Dec 27, 2023 12 min Central America and the U.S.-China rivalry Central America, a region of small states, has to increasingly engage with the great powers and their competition. What is it thinking? Dec 19, 2023 13 min Bolivia and China: socialist comradery? Bolivia makes a perfect ideological partner for Xi Jinping—but is anything happening? Dec 4, 2023 13 min What's up with China's economy? The Chinese economy faces both immediate crises and silent killers, and solving them will be very difficult. Nov 23, 2023 12 min The Dutch conservative mediacracy The Dutch general election shows how conservative voices have come to dominate the mediasphere amidst the growth of a new mediacracy. Oct 28, 2023 16 min Israel and Palestine in a new world (2) As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, the failure of the West's initial response has become clear. Oct 16, 2023 12 min Israel and Palestine in a new world (1) The Israel—Hamas conflict shows the complexity of Middle Eastern geopolitics and external involvement. Oct 9, 2023 7 min Transnational frames of the Hamas—Israeli conflict The earliest Western response to Hamas' attack ignored relevant truths, creating an unnecessarily one-dimensional frame of the conflict. Sep 27, 2023 11 min Is India the world's largest democracy? Narendra Modi's prime ministership asks for a re-assessment of India as a 'stable democracy'. Sep 17, 2023 5 min Afghanistan, Wagner, and China: the Haiti problem An international security operation in Haiti seems inevitable. What are the risks and opportunities for those involved? Sep 6, 2023 5 min BRICS+ and the Bandung Spirit In August, the members of BRICS decided to invite more states to the group. It shows some resemblance to the 1955 Bandung Spirit. Aug 31, 2023 4 min Is China’s presence in Central America ‘exploding’? A recent analysis saw China's presence in the region 'exploding', but is that true? Apr 14, 2023 4 min The WTA returns to in China There were no good options left for the WTA. Apr 8, 2023 10 min After Honduras, is Paraguay next? Now that Honduras has chosen PRC over ROC, eyes are on Paraguay. Feb 4, 2023 9 min The E.U. and U.S. differ on China The E.U. and U.S. share similar interests when it comes to China, but only to a certain extent. Sep 1, 2022 10 min The Chinese civil war continues... in Central America (2) In 2007, Costa Rica became the PRC's first Central American ally. Why? May 12, 2022 10 min The Chinese civil war continues... in Central America (1) How does Central America matter in the PRC—ROC conflict? Mar 18, 2022 7 min The WTA stands alone against Xi Is there no more support for the WTA and Peng Shuai? Mar 3, 2022 8 min It is a decisive moment for China PR China's position after the Russian invasion of Ukraine is complicated. Feb 22, 2022 7 min Is reliance on NATO still Europe's best bet? Europe should seriously consider looking beyond NATO. ABOUT ME Hello! My name is Jurriaan Hoenderdos. I am a graduate in Chinese/Asian studies and Latin American studies. My main interests lie in Chinese contemporary politics, society, and its international relations, as well as Latin American society and international relations. I enjoy researching and understanding the complexities of the world as it is rapidly changing around us. On this website, I have regularly published posts that relate to my interests. Currently, the website is not being updated. Feel free to contact me by sending me a message below! More » Sep 27, 2023 11 min Is India the world's largest democracy? Narendra Modi's prime ministership asks for a re-assessment of India as a 'stable democracy'. HIGHLIGHTED ASIA Bolivia and China: socialist comradery? Bolivia makes a perfect ideological partner for Xi Jinping—but is anything happening? HIGHLIGHTED AMERICAS OTHER The Dutch conservative mediacracy The Dutch general election shows how conservative voices have come to dominate the mediasphere amidst the growth of a new mediacracy. Contact Get updates about my posts Sign up below to receive notifications when a new post gets published. Enter your e-mail address here Sign up Thank you for signing up!

Academic experience September 2020 - July 2023 September 2020 - July 2021 September 2019 - July 2020 September 2016 - July 2020 In September 2020, I began studying BA Latin American studies , still at Leiden University, to pursue deeper knowledge of this region as my interest in Sino-Latin American relations had grown. The program has a wide range in topics, yet special focus lays on Spanish language acquisition. I graduated in July 2023. I majored in MA Asian studies in July 2021. During the program, I focused on East Asia, PR China most specifically, opting to study international relations in Chinese modern history. My master thesis analysed the historical roots of PR China and Taiwan's rivalry in securing international recognition amongst Central American states, focusing on the late Cold War period. In the school year 2019-20, I studied at a secondary teacher program at ICLON, Leiden, where pedagogy, subject didactics, and other courses were taught, in order to learn how to teach Mandarin at high-school level. For the entire year, I interned as a teacher at a gymnasium in Hilversum, teaching Mandarin classes to students. In 2016, I began studying China studies in Leiden, the Netherlands. During my studies, I increasingly focused on modern history and visual arts. Naturally, most time was spent on studying Mandarin. In 2018, I spent a semester studying at Taipei University (師大 ). In January 2019, I wrote my bachelor thesis on the influence of the Dutch East Indies' Chinese community on diplomatic negotiations on extraterritoriality rights between the Republic of China and the Netherlands in the first half of the twentieth century. Background image: An advertisement for a Chinese restaurant near San Isidro de El General in Costa Rica (2023). Studies Chinese Studies ​ Before finishing high school, I had already gained an early interest in studying foreign cultures and languages, perhaps thanks to the privilege of being able to travel to several countries outside of Europe in my childhood. In that time, I visited mostly countries in Asia and Latin America. For this reason, it may not really be that much of a coincidence that I ended up studying those regions. During my final year at high school, I knew that I wanted to study a non-Western language and culture. I considered several, including Russian and Japanese, but ended up at Chinese, without any good rationale. Mostly, I just wanted to study a complicated language. I knew close to nothing about China when I started studying Chinese studies in 2016—I barely knew the names of its capital and its president. Actually, I also had no idea if I would even like studying Chinese. I had no previous ties to China: I had not been there, nor had I at any point had any form of special interest in the country. Before 2016, I could not have told you what the difference is between Mandarin and Cantonese, or what dumplings are. Still, I gained an interest in China pretty quickly. During the first years of my studies, most attention was on language acquisition, and this especially took off during our Spring 2018 semester at Taipei University (师大 ). Our Taiwanese classes were laser-focused on further improving our language skills. Besides this, living in Taipei and travelling throughout the country enabled me to learn about Taiwanese culture and just experience how it is to live in another part of the world. In 2018, I also travelled through mainland China, trying out conversations with Chinese people (see photo) and experiencing daily life on the mainland. I think it was here that I realized that I made the right choice in studying China. Throughout my bachelor, I increasingly focused on (modern) history, including some art history. In 2019, I wrote my bachelor’s thesis on the Indo-Chinese community in the Dutch East Indies in the first half of the twentieth century, and, drawing from archival documents, I concluded that this community was pivotal in the difficulties of diplomatic consulations between the Dutch and Chinese governments in the 1930s and 1940s about ending colonial-era extraterritoriality rights for Dutch citizens on Chinese territory. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Teaching ​ In 2019, after completing my regular bachelor’s program, I pursued a teacher qualification at ICLON, learning how to teach Mandarin classes at high-school level. Teaching had interested me for some time, and I quickly realized that I really liked it. At the same time, I started teaching seminars at Leiden University to first-year Chinese studies students as a course assistant. The seminars were part of a course on contemporary Chinese politics, economy, and society. By starting both at the same time, I had ample time to practice teaching methods, and I was able to learn what parts of educating I liked. From 2019 to 2023, every first semester of the academic year I worked as the course assistant. Besides teaching seminar sessions, I was also responsible for the course assessment, i.e., grading of exams and papers. During the seminars, besides providing introduction to academic skills, we discussed a broad array of Chinese studies. This ranged from the post-Mao economic reforms to the construction of the Great Firewall, and from the Belt and Road Initiative to the problematic urban–rural divide. Asian Studies ​ In 2020 –21, I studied the MA Asian Studies, focusing on East Asian studies specifically. Like in my bachelor program, I opted for courses on modern history as much as possible, together with more language acquisition courses. In the summer of 2021, I finished my master’s thesis on Chinese relations with Central America. In my thesis, I argued that the remarkable reluctance of Central American states to still side with Taiwan (ROC) over China (PRC) has its roots in the late Cold War, and presented four factors that account for local decision-making in the recognition rivalry between both Chinas. Latin American Studies Simultaneously, in 2020 I began the BA Latin American Studies. Having travelled to the region with family before graduating from high school, this was a region I had a natural interest in. Moreover, I thought it would be interesting to focus on a particular aspect of China’s interna- tional relations, and in order to focus on Sino-Latin American relations, more knowledge of the region itself would obviously be necessary. I also wanted to be able to speak Spanish. In Summer 2023 I graduated from this program, concluding with a third thesis. This thesis built on a discourse analysis of media and political discourse in two Central American states, Costa Rica and Honduras, and examined which narratives about China, the U.S., and their great- power rivalry have emerged in these countries in the period 2018 –23. ​ Research traineeship ​ In 2023, I also participated in a research project as a trainee. We did research on the new constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador (2008–09), how they are bringing the idea of plurinatio- nalism in practice, and how they relate to the rejected new plurinational constitution in Chile (2021–22). ​ (Note: Since 2024, I work at the Ministry of OCW in the Hague.) In Spring 2018, talking to a Shandongnese woman about her reasons to climb the stairs to the top of Taishan (泰山 ), an important Buddhist mountain in Shandong, near Tai'an. In Summer 2018, looking out over the southern port city of Mokpo, Korea Along the road on the main island of Bocas del Toro in Panama (2023). Personal introduction On this page, I would like to tell a bit more about myself. As you will see, although my interests are very (sometimes annoyingly) broad and practically cover the entire globe and multiple aspects of our societies, there is a baseline. From very early on, I have been interested in foreign languages and cultures, and I have always wanted to understand more about other peoples and ways of living, conscious that our (Western) way of thinking and acting is just one of many.