From Attraction to Strategy: Comparing the Foreign Policy Logic of Overseas Scholarship Programmes in Australia and China
Foreign Policy Analysis, vol.22, no.3, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 22 Issue: 3
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1093/fpa/orag010
- Journal Name: Foreign Policy Analysis
- Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Business Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Political Science Database (ProQuest)
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Government-funded overseas scholarship programmes have most commonly been analysed through the lens of soft power. Recent research has emphasised that the relationship between educational exchange and political influence is contingent, uneven, and often disrupted by unintended consequences. Why do governments continue to use scholarships? This article presents an alternative framework, conceptualised as multidimensional foreign policy logic, to examine how states design and justify scholarship programmes. Drawing on foundational insights from Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) literature, this framework conceptualises scholarships as policy instruments through which governments connect strategic objectives to programme design and legitimating narratives. Empirically, the paper employs a comparative historical case study design, and examines Australia and China as most different cases. The findings demonstrate that in both cases scholarships have functioned as adaptable tools of statecraft rather than merely cultural initiatives: that is, they persist because they can be redesigned to coordinate multiple foreign policy objectives.