Conceptualizing the discourse of student mobility between “periphery” and “semi-periphery”: the case of Africa and China

“Decentring” international student mobility: The case of African student migrants in China

“…The ambiguous “middle” position expressed by semiperipheral (post)coloniality means that China is not one of the countries that sits within the core of the (post)colonial world system, but it benefits from a sense of civilizational superiority and seeks to profit from practices that have their roots in colonialism in its interactions with the periphery. One manifestation of these practices is the provision of scholarships with a dual rationale of “charity” and “soft power”—both colonial in origin and indicating a sense of superiority over the periphery (Lomer, 2017; Mulvey, 2020). In this example, students from relatively marginalised backgrounds within their home countries are able to leverage China's political manoeuvring, highlighting how previously under‐recognised spatial power matrices within the Global South shape student decision making.…”

“…Shifts in the global geopolitical landscape and the resulting emergence of China as a semiperipheral (post)colonial actor in Africa made overseas study a viable option for these students. One manifestation of this positionality is “public diplomacy” initiatives: China reproduces the asymmetrical (post)colonial relationship between the Western core and itself through initiatives such as Confucius Institutes and bilateral scholarships, as a means of competing with the West by improving relations with the global periphery (Mulvey, 2020). However, ultimately, the awareness of the opportunities afforded by this and the final decision to study abroad were explained in terms of “chance” and “luck.”…”

“…In order to explicate the structural forces that contribute to South–South migration, I draw upon, expand, and adapt the concept of semiperipheral (post)coloniality (Ginelli, 2018; Mulvey, 2020), which combines insights from both world‐systems theory (e.g., Wallerstein, 2004) and postcolonial theory. World‐systems theory focuses on how nations interact in a global, hierarchical, political‐economic structure, which has a clear core and periphery.…”

“…Higher education internationalisation is one of the means through which the Chinese state seeks to compete within the global political‐economic hierarchy (Wu, 2019). These two theoretical models are combined in order to express the ambiguous position of semiperipheral states such as China, historically subordinate to the global core but also with a mission to catch up with and overtake the core nations, wielding its relative power over the periphery to achieve this end (Mulvey, 2020). This framework is used to examine how unequal power structures between nation states have implications for the nature of educational migration (Koh, 2015).…”

“…Such investment creates demand for credentials and competency in the language of the investor. As such, China‐related knowledge and skills appear to be in demand in Africa (Mulvey, 2020). Essentially, this article explores how China's changing structural position, expressed in this concept, acts as a structural factor, which shapes student migrants' trajectories.…”