Niki Sopanen

I am currently working on my doctoral dissertation in international relations, which is titled as follows:

 Crouching (paper) tiger, hidden (paper) dragon, and the clash of (theories of) conspiracies" – A comparative inquiry into conspiratorial style in China-U.S. relations from 2012 to 2022 (Monography)

My doctoral thesis examines foreign policy-related conspiratorial discourses and their political implications in the relationship of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America from 2012 to 2022. The study suggests a hypothesis that there has been a ”conspiratorial turn” in China-U.S. relations, manifesting in the prevalence of certain conspiratorial narratives.

The research material in the dissertation consists of speeches, documents, and books produced by leaders of the United States and China, their administration members, and various foreign policy-related national defense ministries and agencies. The material also covers intellectuals, researchers sympathetic to their respective establishments, media outlets, and social media. In terms of the chosen method for analysis, the study resorts to the works of the literary theorist Kenneth Burke, supplemented by insights from narratology and the  Essex school discourse analysis. 

I am interested in conspiracy theories because their prevalence and ubiquity in foreign policy rhetoric often go unnoticed. States tend to accuse each other and suspect others' hidden, malicious motives – yet no one may necessarily label such expressions or interaction as a "conspiracy theory." This is not surprising, as the term "conspiracy theory" carries a pejorative connotation, and it typically denotes a narrative contrary to established epistemic authorities and mainstream beliefs. However, in the domain of international relations, there is no universally accepted epistemic authority, let alone amongst great powers.

Therefore, my study examines conspiracy theories as a mode of expression (style/genre), typical to foreign political interaction between China and the United States: their causes, political usage as well as related implications.

Expected time of completion: 2024

Grants received so far:

 
- Jenny and Antti Whuri Foundation (2020)

- The Kone Foundation (2019) for a visiting researcher period at the Fudan University in Shanghai, China (1.9.2019-31.12.2019).

- The Joel Toivolan Säätiö foundation (2017, 2018) 

Research interests:

- China (foreign policy, political thought, Sino-U.S. relations)

- Threat perceptions, nationalism(s), authoritarianism, populism

- Conspiracy theories

- Foreign political discourses, narratives and rhetoric

- Conceptual history

- IR & Political theory