Case Studies on the Confucius Institute Management System

Abstract

Confucius Institutes have become important institutions and channels for promoting Chinese language and culture internationally. With the establishment of 500 Confucius Institutes around the world, however, many problems are emerging, which need to be considered. There are major defects in the management of Confucius Institutes, which are manifested as follows: a) The Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) has granted too much authority to the Confucius Institute management offices of Chinese universities, while lacking supervision and punishment mechanisms; b) Hanban fails to give powerful support to Chinese and host-country directors in a weak position and the restraints on directors in a strong position are insufficient; c) Some heads of Confucius Institute offices conspire with Chinese directors in a strong position to use the resources of Confucius Institutes to pursue their personal gains; and d) Some heads of Confucius Institute offices conspire with host-country directors in a strong position to make Chinese directors mere figureheads. Based on case studies, the paper analyzes the above problems and proposes measures to improve the Confucius Institute management
system.