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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · 2d

@scwobservatory.bsky.social @lauchinainstitute.bsky.social @madeinchinajournal.com

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · 2d

Written with passion, completed and shared with the usual anxiety:

"Everyday Politics of Global China: Looking to, Reflecting on, and Enacting Authority in Rural Tajikistan"

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Everyday Politics of Global China: Looking to, Reflecting on, and Enacting Authority in Rural Tajikistan

The visible manifestations of Global China, and the responses these manifestations elicit, are at the centre of much of the scholarly literature on, and popular interest in, China's growing global pr....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · 3d

Interesting dynamics here..:

Jennifer Clapp 🇨🇦 @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social · 4d

On the Corteva split of seeds and agrochemicals: "the crop protection division will also bear responsibility for environmental liabilities, including PFAS (forever chemical) claims." www.agriculture.com/what-corteva... Might explain the division...

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · 18d

Thanks for posting! Might try to come ..

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · 19d

US -aid?

US delivered 75 tons of U.S.-manufactured food, "proudly produced" in Texas

"'Our mutual goal is simple: to save lives, improve health, and make a real difference for Tajik families and communities,'” said Ambassador Micaller"

tj.usembassy.gov/united-state...

United States Delivers 75 Tons of Fortified Food Assistance to Support Vulnerable Populations in Tajikistan

September 17, 2025, Dushanbe, Tajikistan – The United States delivered 75 tons of U.S.-manufactured food worth $255,666 to support about 40,000 vulnerable

tj.usembassy.gov

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Aug 18

As lecturer, I look forward interacting and working with students and (new) colleagues, engaging with exciting and critical themes of political ecology, sustainability, belonging, diversity, and development

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Aug 18

A new academic year, a new chapter!

Happy to share I have joined Leiden University's Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology

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Reposted by Irna Hofman

Jessica DiCarlo @jessicadicarlo.bsky.social · Aug 5

Over the past 2 decades, China has become Laos’s top investor, main creditor, and 2nd-largest trade partner. In a new report, @profjulietlu.bsky.social and I unpack Chinese investment across four land-intensive sectors: agriculture & plantations, mining, infrastructure & SEZs. tinyurl.com/kw5vteem

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Reposted by Irna Hofman

Made in China Journal @madeinchinajournal.com · Jul 29

The new issue of Global China Pulse is now live! What does it mean to do fieldwork on Global China? This issue explores the methodological, ethical, and political challenges researchers face when studying China’s global presence from the ground up. Download here: globalchinapulse.net/download/glo...

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jul 29

"Where did she come from? Whose side is she on?"

Relating and Differentiating: Navigating Worlds and Negotiating Positionality in Research on Chinese Agribusinesses in Rural Tajikistan

My contribution to the SI "Researching Global China" in Global China Pulse:
globalchinapulse.net/relating-and...

Relating and Differentiating: Navigating Worlds and Negotiating Positionality in Research on Chinese Agribusinesses in Rural Tajikistan

‘I don’t understand her,’ the Chinese mechanic told my friend in Chinese, pointing at me. ‘We learned the Tajik language on the street; we didn’t take classes. She speaks the official language.’ The m...

globalchinapulse.net

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Reposted by Irna Hofman

Till Mostowlansky @mostowlansky.bsky.social · Jul 24

Commentary with @adoolotkeldieva.bsky.social on how Chinese mining companies in Kyrgyzstan have worked to adapt to a state court system in which compliance as such is an impossibility. @gvagrad.bsky.social

carnegieendowment.org/posts/2025/0...

How Chinese Miners Adapt to Kyrgyzstan’s Legal Compliance

Negative public perception about Chinese expansion into Kyrgyzstan, along with an unpredictable regulatory environment, has profoundly shaped Chinese business practices inside Kyrgyzstan. Despite comm...

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Irna Hofman

SCWObservatory @scwobservatory.bsky.social · Jul 23

Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/seco...

Second Cold War Observatory | LinkedIn

Second Cold War Observatory | 6 followers on LinkedIn. Research collective committed to understanding how great power rivalry shapes societies, economies & ecologies worldwide | The Second Cold W...

www.linkedin.com

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Reposted by Irna Hofman

Made in China Journal @madeinchinajournal.com · Jul 17

How do you do ethnography in places of suspended sovereignty? Richard Nyelade draws on his fieldwork in Taiwan to explore how researchers navigate legal ambiguity, geopolitical tension, and fragile alliances, proposing 'ethnographic diplomacy' as a mode shaped by silence, suspicion, and performance.

Ethnography in the Shadow of Suspended Sovereignty: Navigating Geopolitical Tensions and Indigenous Claims in Taiwan

What does it mean to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in a territory where sovereignty is not only contested but suspended—where diplomatic ambiguity, imperial entanglements, and historical wounds satur...

globalchinapulse.net

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jul 17

This article is part of a forthcoming Special Issue "China in Compliance", edited by, and many thanks to, @matthewserie.bsky.social

@scwobservatory.bsky.social @beltandroadpod.bsky.social @madeinchinajournal.com

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jul 17

Publication alert!

Happy to share my recently published article in Regulation & Governance:

Regulation & Governance @reggovjournal.bsky.social · May 28

#Earlyview #Openaccess

'Which and Whose Rules Rule? Chinese Agribusinesses and the Challenge of Compliance in Rural Tajikistan'
by @irnahofman.bsky.social

Abstract below 👇

#RevGov #Compliance #Agribusiness

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

ABSTRACT
Chinese investments in Tajikistan have significantly increased since the early 2010s. In rural Tajikistan, Chinese companies make up the majority of foreign investors. However, Tajikistan's rural landscape is no easy terrain for foreigners. It is characterized by legal complexity, namely weak regulatory capacity, as well various elites' unofficial requirements. What does compliance mean in such a setting, and how do Chinese companies navigate this environment? Engaging with the literature on compliance and legal geography scholarship, this article examines these questions through the lens of a Chinese agribusiness operating in Tajikistan's cotton economy. I focus on environmental law and the governance of cotton procurement and illuminate a stark contrast: compliance with state law can be claimed relatively easily, but also questioned. On the contrary, compliance with elites' informal requirements is indispensable and requires adaptation. In this context, Chinese companies adjust and comply with laws and norms in locally specific ways.

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Reposted by Irna Hofman

Haroon Akram-Lodhi @ahakram-lodhi.bsky.social · Jul 6

"This is ... about the remaking of (domestic and international)law." An excellent essay

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

The destruction of Palestine is breaking the world | Moustafa Bayoumi

The rules of the institutions that define our lives bend like reeds when it comes to Israel – so much that the whole global order is on the verge of collapse

www.theguardian.com

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jun 25

While I wouldn't talk of plantations in Central Asia, my thoughts resonate with Sarah Besky's, who questioned whether a plantation can be fair.

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jun 25

European firms increasingly look to Central Asia for sourcing agricultural commodities, and markets play a role in setting standards #shiftinggeographiesofproduction.
Yet can we talk of fair trade where/if farmers are subject to production plans, as (still) happens in parts of the region?

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jun 25

Fairtrade now also introduced in.... Turkmenistan shorturl.at/4fSKl

Fairtrade NAPPs Strategic Engagement in the International Sustainable Conference in Turkmenistan to Foster Sustainable Agricultural Collaboration

shorturl.at

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jun 25

Fairtrade now also introduced in.... Turkmenistan shorturl.at/4fSKl

Fairtrade NAPPs Strategic Engagement in the International Sustainable Conference in Turkmenistan to Foster Sustainable Agricultural Collaboration

shorturl.at

Reposted by Irna Hofman

Kati Piri @katipiri.bsky.social · Jun 23

Rode lijn acties om genocide in Gaza te stoppen.

Na 1,5 jaar vroeg kabinet om ‘onderzoek’. EU-onderzoek: Israël volledig over de schreef.

Toch trekt kabinet geen enkele consequentie. Diep teleurstellend hoe coalitie meewerkt aan straffeloosheid van Netanyahu’s misdaden.

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jun 21

Another great initiative!

Made in China Journal @madeinchinajournal.com · Jun 20

A few of us at the Made in China Journal have been working on a very exciting new project. Stay tuned for the launch of our podcast, 开门见山 | Gateway to Global China, a monthly interview series hosted by @yangyangcheng.bsky.social. The first episode drops next week, wherever you get your podcasts.

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Jun 2

Join us this Thursday (5 June) at the International Institute of Social Studies:

Shifting geopolitical fault lines and global food security

www.iss.nl/en/events/sh...

Shifting geopolitical fault lines and global food security

This international workshop brings together academics and societal organizations to discuss food security in the current geopolitical turbulence

www.iss.nl

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Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · May 9

AI & Academia. Aw.

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · May 5

www.linkedin.com/posts/jobbew...

Wageningen trekt een rode lijn. Dit kabinet staat niet voor de waarden die… | Jobbe Wijnen

Wageningen trekt een rode lijn. Dit kabinet staat niet voor de waarden die we op 5 Mei vieren. Daarom was er een subtiel, maar niet te missen protest tijdens het startschot van het Bevrijdingsfestival...

www.linkedin.com

Irna Hofman @irnahofman.bsky.social · Apr 27

I was delighted to speak at the seminar on water challenges in Central Asia at @clingendael.bsky.social on 17 April.

What are (some of) the everyday water challenges encountered at the microlevel?

Were you interested but unable to attend? Watch the recording:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV6g...

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